Trap of Darkness
by WhiteAngelAnime
Summary: Tormented by an unknown prankster, and the sudden death of Izayoi, the Taisho family soon realise that's not all they're about to face. Will they realise before it's too late? Pairings: Toga-o/OC, Sesshomaru/OC, Inuyasha/Kagome, Miroku/Sango, Kohaku/Rin. M rating just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello everyone, I'm WAA, or as a friend of mine calls me, Kitty. Trap of Darkness is a joint story I made together with LADY SILVERFOX charita rai. We do not own the Inuyasha cast, but we do own the plotline and our OCs who won't be introduced in this chapter. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review, it'll be most helpful. Thanks!

* * *

 **One**

It was a normal day in the Taishō household. The servants bustled about the palace with numerous activities they had to fulfil by the end of the morning before moving onto their afternoon chores, which would be later followed by their nightly tasks. Such was the lifestyle of those serving beneath the current Lord of Japan, and Japan's most powerful and fearful yōkai lord, Tōga-o the inu no Taishō.

Speaking of which, Japan's fine ruler was elbow deep in paperwork despite the all-nighter he pulled. His thick black brows were drawn in the middle, golden eyes moving quickly across the words as he read silently to himself. Dismissing the pettiness of a lower yōkai lord, he dropped the letter in the bin beside him and opened another letter. That one was no better. Sighing through his nose, Tōga-ō tossed that letter into the bin with the other and continued through the mess.

 _I should have gotten another secretary_ , he thought to himself, his thoughts darkened and his mood soured. _But I can't replace Izayoi that easily._

 _Idiot!_ He thought, mentally slapping himself. _Having a secretary is not replacing Izayoi._

 _Am I still that hung up over her death?_

A knock rapped on the door, disturbing his thoughts and the heavy silence that was as thick as the shadows that clung to where the lamplight didn't touch.

'Enter,' he said loud enough to be heard and turned his attention back to the documents laid out on his desk that painted the top white.

 _Definitely a secretary_ , he decided as his visitor entered, footsteps muffled by the thick carpet.

'Oyakata-sama, would you be joining your sons for breakfast?' the gentle voice of the maid asked.

'Yes,' he finally answered after a brief pause to decide. 'Are they both awake?'

'Sesshōmaru-sama's training out in the arena. Inuyasha-sama's still asleep,' she said while pulling back the curtains, allowing the rising light of the sun to spill into the dark crevices of the room.

'Still?' he asked in surprise, although he should have gotten used to Inuyasha's laziness by now.

That boy never wanted to do anything he was supposed to, let allow something he had no choice in the matter. His sheer stubbornness and relentlessness had gotten the both of them in trouble far too many times to count. He was never like this with his mother, Izayoi. Ever since she died of cancer, Inuyasha's done nothing but rebel like a child. In all honesty, he's been nothing but a pest, as Sesshōmaru puts it. Despite it all, Tōga-ō could not find it in his heart to blame the poor boy. Neither Inuyasha nor himself had quite gotten over Izayoi's death. Not even after an entire year of her absence.

'Would you like me to wake him, Oyakata-sama?'

'Have Sesshōmaru wake him,' he said on a sigh, tossing another idiotic letter in the bin.

'As you wish,' she said bowing low and padded silently out of the room with a soft click of the door.

Silence descended upon him once more. His thoughts involuntarily descended upon his late wife. A human of unfathomable beauty who had stolen his heart. He tried to ease the sadness that ate at his heart by convincing himself she was in a better place. Like many times before, his heart remained fractured. The phantom pains were mere reminders of the true pain he felt on the day he had lost her. He knew that she'd want him to move on, find another, but to never forget her. She'd want that with all her heart. But he could not bring himself to look upon another woman.

He was just not ready.

The song 'Beds are Burning' by Midnight Oil suddenly crackled on the speakers.

' _Out where the river broke_

 _The bloodwood and the desert oak_

 _Holden wrecks and boiling diesels_

 _Steam in forty-five degrees_

 _The time has come_

 _To say fair's fair_

 _To pay the rent_

 _To pay our share_

 _The time has come_

 _A fact's a fact_

 _It belongs to them_

 _Let's give it back.'_

'If this is another of Inuyasha's jokes, it's getting ridiculous,' Tōga-ō said while glaring at the hidden speakers.

'And who the hell installed a surround sound in my office!' he yelled.

His brief moment of anger subsided as a timid knock echoed from the door. Taking a deep steady breath, Tōga-ō permitted the maid to enter. As she shakily stepped into the room, eyes wide with fright and shock at the music that filled the office, she bowed low.

'Is there anything I can do, Oyakata-sama?'

'Prepare a calming tea please, Iori,' he said pinching the bridge of his nose.

'Right away,' she said bowing and left the room.

' _How can we dance when our earth is turning?_

 _How do we sleep while our beds are burning?_

 _How can we dance when our earth is turning?_

 _How can we sleep while our beds are burning?'_

At the word 'burning' the fire alarm blared to life, startling him enough to make him slightly jump from the suddenness. He then smacked his hands over his sensitive ears to try and block out the intensely high pitch wail that threatened to deafen him. He glared up at the red alarm fixed to his wall that continuously flashed red.

He had not been informed of a fire drill, so he knew that this was the real deal.

Why else would it go off?

Unless this was some sort of elaborate prank. If so, this was taking it a step too far. There was no use looking for the culprit. There was only one who'd dare play a prank on Japan's ruling family. Inuyasha. He was the only one that would enjoy mischief of this level.

But why would he do this? And could it really have been Inuyasha? Was even he smart enough to play a song that happened to involve fire just before the fire alarm went off?

Sesshōmaru certainly had the intelligence, but he did not have the mind to play mindless childish pranks. Inuyasha, though smart in his own way, wasn't a genius despite being Sesshōmaru's head of security. It was brute strength and skill with Tessaiga that landed him the position, not his brain. The lack of intellect was one thing that Sesshōmaru often goaded him for. Yet, underneath their stubborn exteriors the brothers were actually closer than they'd let on.

Tōga-ō loved his sons, but he was not letting Inuyasha get away with this stunt.

Enough was enough. It was time Inuyasha grew up. If he had to order the boy to spend every waking moment with his aniki in order to learn, then so be. It'll be both his punishment and his lesson.

* * *

Sesshōmaru was annoyed. No, he was seriously pissed off. Not that he was ever going to show or admit.

His routinely morning exercises had been disturbed because his father wanted him to wake his pathetic hanyō brother. The good for nothing half-human was a nuisance, positively aggravating and disgracefully weak. Yet, despite how Sesshōmaru kept telling himself this, he was unable to forget how quickly Inuyasha was adapting to sparring against him and defeating all their opposing enemies. He'd never acknowledge Inuyasha's strength, let alone his presence. The closest he'd ever come to doing so was to constantly test him. It was the only way.

But to be disturbed in the middle of training for something so trivial?!

He was certainly going to let Inuyasha know how much he hated being interrupted for something as stupid as to wake someone up.

Clad in nothing but a pair of ballooned, closed off at the ankles, hakama and his black ankle boots, he stormed to Inuyasha's room in the east wing of the palace.

Servants dispersed as soon as they saw him, death in his golden eyes. But that's how they naturally perceived him. A tall bishōnen with silky silver locks that sways gracefully with his elegant movements, and a pair of haunting golden eyes. The eyes of death, or so the servants whisper. Like they'd ever say such words in earshot. They'd be dead in a second. But what Sesshōmaru also did not know was the way the women all undressed him with their eyes, envisioning their bare skin against his own as they spend the night in carnal pleasure.

But maybe Sesshōmaru did know. After all, he wasn't stupid or oblivious.

He barged into his otouto's room. More like demolished the door as the splinters fell to the ground. But neither the sound nor swirl of his yōki had any effect on Inuyasha who continued to snore unbelievably loud in his nest of blankets and pillows. Narrowing his thin black brows at the scantily clad, muscular, male in his pit, Sesshōmaru felt his anger rage inside of him at Inuyasha's obliviousness to his mood. And the fact that he still slept soundly under such a piercingly dark glare only heightened Sesshōmaru's growing temper.

Instead of demanding in a cold voice for him to get up, Sesshōmaru moved over to Inuyasha's stash of matches and lighters he stored away in a draw. Grabbing a box of matches and slamming the draw shut with more force than necessary, he ignored the crack that had formed from his temper and strode back to Inuyasha who was still, miraculously, sleeping. Eyes narrowing, Sesshōmaru struck a match across the box just as the radio alarm clock flickered to life playing 'Beds are Burning' by Midnight Oil.

Resisting the temptation of lobbing it against the wall, he dropped the match on Inuyasha's bed. He waited as it flickered to life before striding uncaringly out of the room. A small spark of satisfaction bloomed in his chest, the song stuck in his head as he made his way back to his room in the west wing. It was only as he stepped into his private sanctuary that he realised the song hadn't been stuck in his head, but was blaring out of hidden speakers. Speakers which had banned from every part of the palace aside from the game room, an old unused room that had been converted since entering the twenty-first century.

Red-hot anger rushed through his system at the thought that someone had not only broken into the palace but into _his_ room as well. But that wasn't the only thing. They had not only soiled his room with their presence, but they had installed a speaker system that Sesshōmaru had _banned_ from his room _and_ managed to leave not a trace of their presence behind. This told him one thing. If they had done it once, then they could do it again.

The fire alarm suddenly blared to life, forcing an angered growl from Sesshōmaru's throat. Rather than panicking, even though he knew it was no fire drill, he discarded his training clothes into the dirty laundry hamper and changed into a hakama and haori tied closed by his yellow and blue sash. He didn't care of the twenty-first century fashion. He was more comfortable in the feudal era style of clothing than those tight trousers the humans called jeans. Snatching his swords from their stands, he slipped them into the sash and headed for the courtyard when everyone else would be gathered.

* * *

Inuyasha screamed awake at the alarm blaring deafeningly in his ears. The momentum applied to sitting up had been overexerted and sent him reeling through the fire burning his bed sheets and onto the tatami matted floor. Bolting to his feet, he swatted the fire that clung to his body and then cursed the fire that was eating at his platform futon. Ruffling his hair with both hands, he felt at a loss of what to do.

'Inuyasha!' his father's voice bellowed with worry, before the man himself skidded into view and stepped into the room.

'Oyaji!' Inuyasha exclaimed surprised. 'What the hell's going on?'

Tōga-ō blinked in surprise. 'This isn't your doing?'

'What are you talking about?!' Inuyasha snapped. 'Why the hell would I set my own bed on fire with me in it? And what's with this stupid song?'

Tōga-ō slapped his own forehead. 'I should not have sent Sesshōmaru to wake you up.'

'Huh? Wait a minute! Are you saying that Sesshōmaru did this?!' he bellowed. 'That good for nothing bastard!'

'Calm down, Inuyasha,' his voice said in a calming voice. 'Let's go to the courtyard before we both burn to death.'

'It's not big enough to kill me,' he grumbled as he followed after his father.

As the pair made it to the courtyard, all the servants rushed into the palace carrying buckets of water pulled from the well in order to put out the fire.

Had the palace had plumbing, it would have made it a lot easier. But since the palace was an ancient piece of history, Tōga-ō had refused plumbing and electricity to be added. Instead, he had an onsen built on the south side of the palace with the modern uses. That, and he also found the modern era rather confusing. He was still unable to figure out the technology side of the world and had human employees for that purpose. Well, that was one reason for their employment.

Tōga-ō and Inuyasha made their way over to Sesshōmaru, who stood apart from the slightly spooked guards, with an infamously annoying green kappa at his side.

'Oi! Sesshōmaru!' Inuyasha exploded, balling his clawed hands into fists. 'You started that fire on my bed with me in it, didn't you?'

'How dare you!' the kappa exploded, waving his staff threateningly.

But both his words and presence went unnoticed.

'Stop complaining, Inuyasha. You're still alive aren't you.'

'You bastard,' he growled through clenched teeth.

'That's enough, the both of you,' Tōga-ō interrupted before Inuyasha could pounce. 'We need to discuss these silly pranks before they get out of hand, like today. Sesshōmaru, igniting Inuyasha's bed with your brother in it was very stupid and childish of you. Inuyasha, I know it's hard with your mother gone, but you can't install speakers all over the palace just for your amusement.'

'Huh? I never installed any speakers.'

'The complexity involved in installing the human's entertainment systems would be much too difficult for Inuyasha's tiny brain to comprehend,' Sesshōmaru mocked, while, strangely, coming to his brother's defence.

If that's what you could call it.

'Why you…' Inuyasha growled lowly.

'What are you saying, Sesshōmaru?' Tōga-ō interrupted before Inuyasha could say anything to start a fight.

'Inuyasha would not be brave enough, let alone stupid enough, to install hidden speakers in my room.'

'As if I'd want to go in that smelly room of yours,' Inuyasha said childishly as his crossed his arms over his bare chest.

'At least mine can be called a room compared to that junkyard of yours,' Sesshōmaru retorted.

'Stop squabbling like children or I'll treat you like one!' Tōga-ō said slightly raising his voice to be heard.

Inuyasha lowered his head and flattened his ears. Sesshōmaru merely looked unblinkingly at his father.

'What was you getting at Sesshōmaru?'

'We've been infiltrated. Someone with a high level of skill had managed to sneak passed security, infiltrate the palace, install carefully hidden speakers in every possible room for who knows what reason, and managed to sneak back out without leaving a single trace of their presence or scent. Either we have an unknown enemy, or our current enemies have hired someone skilled enough to leave their mark on our territory without leaving a single trace to be tracked.'

'That is most worrisome,' Tōga-ō said rubbing his chin. 'We'll have to double the guard and constantly be alert. Unless they've managed to memorise everything in one night, or they've been here on more than one occasion, we may have to suspect everyone who has access to the palace.'

'How are we going to catch them out?' Inuyasha asked.

'We'll have to set traps,' Tōga-ō answered.

Sesshōmaru nodded in agreement.

'Oyakata-sama,' Iori said in her soft-spoken voice.

'What is it?' Tōga-ō asked turning to the servant.

'Sesshōmaru-sama and Inuyasha-sama are late for school,' she announced.

'Crap,' he cursed. 'Sesshōmaru, Inuyasha, go to school. I'll take care of things here.'

'Are you serious?' Inuyasha demanded. 'The palace almost got burnt down because of someone's stupidity and you want us to go to school?'

'Now!' he ordered.

'Fine!' Inuyasha snapped and headed inside to change.

'Not a word, Sesshōmaru,' Tōga-ō said with a warning glint in his eyes. 'You're to blame for this mess. And no, you're not getting out of going to school. Rehabilitation for both yōkai and human is essential for those who have spent long periods isolated away from the other species. You've isolated yourself from humans too much. You must learn how to behave and act around them. Now go. We'll deal with the other matter later.'

Without a word, Sesshōmaru turned and strode away, leaving his father to stand watching his retreating back.

Tōga-ō sighed.

 _Why did I have to get two stubborn sons?_

He shook that thought away.

 _No matter. I wouldn't change them for anything. Not even when they're not worth the aggravation._

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Oyakata-sama – master

Heika – Majesty/Your Majesty

Aniki – older brother

Bishōnen – beautiful youth (boy)

Otouto – younger brother

Oyaji – father

Onsen – hot springs

Kappa - imp


	2. Chapter 2

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. I'm your authoress, Kitty. This story is a joint effort between me and LADY SILVERFOX aka charita rai. We do not own Inuyasha, but we'd sure love to own two certain characters. We own all rights to our OCs, one of which will be introduced in this chapter. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

* * *

 **Two**

Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha both rode in the family's sleek black limousine, complete with black leather seats and mini bar. Inuyasha was glowering with crossed arms on the front bench seat just behind the driver, the furthest he could get from his older brother who sat on the back bench seat. Sesshōmaru leaned his elbow on the backrest of his seat, his cheek resting against his fist as he looked out the darkly tinted window. The way he disregarded Inuyasha's angry presence twisted the younger prince's mood darker. Sesshōmaru's mind was far too occupied to deal with his moping brother.

The speakers gave a strange little crackle, just like the ones back at the palace had, before a different song began to play. It was 'Don't Tread on Me' by Damn Yankees.

' _Freedom rider on a midnight cruise_

 _On my way I got nothing to lose_

 _Sister mercy gonna take my hand_

 _Lead me over to the promised land_

 _But you'd better not set your sights on me_

' _cause it just might spoil your victory_

 _Don't you dare, don't you tread on me_

 _Don't you tread on me_

 _Don't you try and make some fool of me_

 _Don't you tread on me.'_

Sesshōmaru's thin black brows drew together ever so slightly at the choice of song. It was almost as if someone knew exactly what he was thinking, as if they were toying with him, and he didn't like that thought at all. It couldn't be a coincidence that the driver happened to play that song. Someone must have hacked the systems. They might have even installed video cameras in the car in order to mess with his head even further. But where?

' _We walked the ground of ancient ones_

 _Lit the fire with the rising sun_

 _You and me, we got a full on rage_

 _Won't get fooled, no I won't be caged_

 _Make love not war was your claim to fame_

 _Now you're takin me down, well I won't be tamed_

 _Don't you dare, don't you treat on me_

 _Don't you tread on me_

 _Don't you try and make some fool of me_

 _Don't you treat on me.'_

Sesshōmaru lifted a hand to the intercom system just above him and pressed a button.

'Turn it off,' he ordered the driver.

'B-but, Sesshōmaru-sama, the radio isn't on,' the chauffer stammered fearfully.

The scent was palpable that it caused Sesshōmaru to frown and Inuyasha to shift in his seat.

'What are you saying?' he demanded, becoming agitated.

'I-I d-don't know where t-the song's coming f-from. B-but I assure you, it's not from the radio.'

Sesshōmaru's anger rolled off his body causing Inuyasha to growl agitatedly at him.

'Would ya knock it off?' Inuyasha snapped. 'You're being grumpier than usual.'

His unfeeling golden eyes clashed with Inuyasha's anger filled ones. While Sesshōmaru remained still and appeared to be relaxed, there was a tension to his muscles that hadn't been there before. Inuyasha was able to make it out due to knowing his brother better than anyone else, which both disturbed and angered him. Sesshōmaru was far from pleased with how Inuyasha could seem to read him so openly at times. What was to be expected? They not only lived together, they went school together, and they worked together. Though Sesshōmaru appeared a mystery most of the time, even to Inuyasha, Inuyasha was an open book. He was too easy to decipher, and that was one of the things that pissed Sesshōmaru off. Their enemies could take advantage of Inuyasha's predictability.

'Bastard,' Inuyasha muttered when he went back to looking out the window.

'Stop acting like a brat, hanyō,' Sesshōmaru spat venomously.

'What the hell's your problem? Do you want a fight?'

'As if you're capable of keeping up with this Sesshōmaru,' he said mockingly.

'What was that?' he growled, balling his fists.

'Have you lost your ability to hear correctly? Or was you always that dumb?'

Inuyasha glared harder, a growl emitting from his throat.

'We've arrived, Sesshōmaru-sama, Inuyasha-sama,' the chauffer interrupted as the car slowed to a stop.

The brothers continued to glare at one another until the left side door was opened.

Getting graciously out of the car, Sesshōmaru stepped out into the chilly air that promised rain. His cold eyes eyed the high school with disdain before making his way towards it unhindered. He was aware of Inuyasha's presence behind him as he too made his way towards the school but chose to ignore him. He'd only ever acknowledge him whenever he needed a good sparring partner since everyone else was lacking. While he needed to spill someone's blood, Inuyasha's blood would not be able to help with his sudden bloodlust. The only blood that would satisfy him would be this intruder's.

Right now, his need to hunt this intruder down was hindered by this pathetic school.

Taishō High was a high school, built and owned by the Taishō family, that was made in order to cater for both humans and yōkai in the ability for both species to be able to coexist alongside one another. Up until their early twenties, both yōkai and humans had to attend the school before they could be deemed safe amongst the rest of Japan's citizens. It was a rehabilitation school that was a must. Foreigners and those that had been isolated, or had no contact, with the other species had no option _but_ to attend.

Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha had both been isolated from humanity for far too long that neither of them had a choice about attending the school. The pair of them were very reluctant to attend but their father would not accept 'no' for an answer. And until they had been deemed safe amongst the yōkai and human public, they could not leave the school until their early twenties. But since they would never age any further, they'd be there forever until they both pass the test.

Sesshōmaru's presence filled the hallways as his towering six-foot-two frame sauntered towards his classroom. His right hand twitched with the need for blood, but otherwise nothing else looked amiss. Everyone had gotten used to him wearing the traditional ballooned hakama and haori rather than the modern clothing. He even carried his fluffy thick pelt over his right shoulder. The things lacked from his outfit was his armour and swords that Tōga-ō had forbidden him from taking with him. His father feared that he would slaughter anyone that would make him mad if he had his swords with him. As for his poisonous claws, he had threatened Sesshōmaru to having his abilities sealed if he as much harmed any of the students, be they human or yōkai.

Inuyasha shuffled behind him, hands stuffed into his kimono sleeves. Like Sesshōmaru, he was more comfortable in the traditional garb. Rather than the white that was associated with the Taishō family, his was red with an off-white layer beneath. He normally carried a sword at his hip, but that had been confiscated alongside Sesshōmaru's. To ensure that he behaved, Tōga-ō had threatened Inuyasha in the same manner as Sesshōmaru. Unlike Sesshōmaru, Inuyasha knew what it was like to feel like a human, so his agreement came a little quicker even if it was reluctant.

Sesshōmaru slid the door open with force, enough for the _slap_ of door hitting frame to interrupt the teacher and the students' concentration.

'S-Sesshōmaru-sama,' the teacher said bowing low upon his arrival.

Without a word, the oldest prince made his way to the back of the room with heavy footsteps.

'Inuyasha-sama,' the teacher said disapprovingly as he stepped into the room. 'You're late again!'

'Hah? Why the hell do you only yell at me? Say something to Sesshōmaru too! He's just as late!'

'Must I report you to Inu no Taishō-sama?' he threatened.

'You're kidding me?!' Inuyasha said in disbelief. 'It's not my fault a fire started at home!'

'That's enough of your excuses! Please take your seat!'

Inuyasha grumbled something like 'bite me' as he sauntered off to his seat in the middle row, boxed in by two beautiful black haired women and a brown haired one, and a black haired one he'd rather choke to death. The one he really felt like choking gave him a sexy 'come hither' smile. He clenched his fists at his side, glared hatefully at her and slouched grumpily into his seat. Stuffing his hands into his sleeves, he turned his face away from the teacher if only to turn away from glaring at the woman who had betrayed him, broke his heart, and almost killed him. To think she still had the guts to say that she still loved him.

He just wanted to strangle her to death.

His golden gaze found a pair of blue eyes watching him with concern. His hate and sour mood lightened at the young male whose short black hair was pulled back into a small ponytail.

Miroku was the only one that Inuyasha could truly call a friend. They not only worked together under Sesshōmaru, depressingly, but they helped each other out in anything else. They partied together, they got in trouble together, they suffered from weakness, humiliation, pain and heartache. They've shared their secrets with one another. They trusted each other. They do anything for each other. That's how their friendship was. When one was in trouble, the other would always back them up. Inuyasha knew that he could count on him when things got rough. After all, he was at his side when Kikyō betrayed him like the filthy slut she was.

Inuyasha gave him a reassuring smirk his way before turning his attention to the outside of the classroom.

* * *

Stepping out of the gate, Jasmine was overwhelmed by the immensely thick crowd. Uneasy washed through, as well as a tinge of annoyance. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her emotions before wading through the crowd pulling along her suitcase behind her. Tightening her grip on her handbag as the people walked too close, Jasmine fought down the urge to push through the crowd. Never the violent one, the temptation was easily snuffed out.

Ten minutes of dodging and weaving around the ignorant Japanese people and tourists, she finally walked out the rotating door to the outside. There was a parking bay for drop offs and pick-ups. There was even a parking lot for those that had to wait for a while. What she was looking for was a taxi that was supposed to be picking her up. It had been arranged prior to her departure for Tokyo, Japan, by someone with the name of Myōga who said that upon arriving to Tokyo, she would be taken straight to Taishō High for rehabilitation. Of course she had questioned this being twenty-one years old. But he had said that it was a law for foreigners to attend to prove that they are safe enough to handle the new environment and laws of yōkai and human. Unable to argue against going to a high school, which she researched and found it catered to those up to their early twenties, Jasmine had bid the man goodbye and hung up.

And now she was here.

She came to this overwhelming city, dubbed as Yōkai City due to the overflowing population of them, in order to learn meteorology at their university. Her initial plan had been hindered by having to attend a stupid rehabilitation school, but at least this way she can get a feel of the place before deciding anything rash, like permanently moving to Tokyo.

'Where's this stupid taxi? I was told they'd meet me out front.' she said in English. 'They better not be late.'

'Miss Samaira,' a Japanese male called out, saying the name as 'Sam-ear-ra' with a heavy accent.

Jasmine turned and eyed the middle-aged man holding a cardboard with her name on it in block capitals.

'English?' she questioned taking a tentative step towards him.

'Yes, ma'am,' he answered. '…headed for… Taishō High…?'

The obvious breaks in his speech told her that he was still unfamiliar to the English language. At least it was good enough for her to understand him, and hopefully, vice versa.

'Yes,' she answered with a fake eagerness.

He smiled. 'Let…take…luggage,' he said reaching for the suitcase.

She surrendered it over to him without a fight

'.…this way…'

She followed as he led her to his parked taxi that sat right at the bottom of the stairs. She wanted to slap herself at not noticing him before now, but then she blamed the crowd that had swarmed around her. He courteously opened the door for her, with a smile so wide it looked like it would split his face in half. She felt uneasy at the look but got into the car anyway. He closed the door, effectively trapping her in. The slam of the boot made her jump in surprise. Relaxing herself into the seat, Jasmine took out her smartphone from her bag and plugged her earphones into her ears and played 'Make me Lose Control' by Eric Carman.

Her anxieties faded away as the music blared into her ears, drowning out everything else. She watched the streets of Tokyo fly by, the road bumpy. Yet, despite this, she felt lulled as her eyelids kept dropping, only for her to snap her eyes open. The right between wakefulness and sleep continued on for a couple more minutes before her head lolled to a side and she gave into the soothing darkness behind her eyelids.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Sama – is a respectful title, and is used as 'Lord' whenever Sesshōmaru, Tōga-ō, and Inuyasha are spoken to or about (sometimes Inuyasha will be called master rather than lord).

Hanyō –half-demon half-human


	3. Chapter 3

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. Kitty here. I only own half the credit to this story, the other half goes to LADY SILVERFOX charita rai. Neither of us own Inuyasha, if we did she'd claim Inu no Taishō for herself and I'd dominate Sesshōmaru (well I'd try). LADY SILVERFOX owns her OC Jasmine, while I own my o who'll be introduced in this chapter. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'English'

' _Japanese'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Three**

'Ma'am. Ma'am.'

The thick Japanese accent and the rather rough shaking jostled her out of sleep. She glared unhappily at the taxi man who gave her a sheepish smile in return. Ruffling her long dark brown-black hair, she slung her bag over her shoulder and stepped out of the yellow car into the dreadfully dismal weather. Immediately, her sight was overtaken by the massive private school that stretched out on the other side of towering fancy wrought iron gates. There was a dog in mid leap design on the gates, the left mirroring the right. Towering, bushy, trees dotted the courtyard, adding a serene natural environment to a place that was almost like a prison to its occupants.

The white bricked building appeared to look as if it had been crafted from marble. The red tiled roof had a threatening look to it, appearing almost like blood under the dismal sky. Rather than a complete rectangular shape, the old three-hundred roomed mansion had a tower standing erect at the side of the building. The lawn was immaculately cut, adding further to the all too perfect school. The appearance of perfection overwhelmed Jasmine, knowing that there was no way that she could live up to the expectations of being 'faultless'.

'Your suitcase, ma'am,' the Japanese man said, startling her.

She turned quickly, a little too fast as her head span momentarily.

'Thank you,' she said quickly.

'Big place,' he said standing next to her, nodding his head once at the school.

'Very,' she breathed, her brown speckled green eyes took in the beautifully menacing building that was built flawlessly.

'Perfect,' the foreign man whispered entranced.

'Too perfect,' Jasmine said as if she were cursing the place.

'Place where everyone want go,' the man said.

'I know,' she answered dispiritingly.

'You be fine,' he said patting her shoulder encouragingly. 'You smart woman. Fit in just fine.'

'Thanks,' she said sparing a small smile at him.

'Good luck,' he said, giving her a final pat.

She stared at the building as she heard him slam his door closed and drove off, leaving her to face the new world alone.

She had to admit, she was frightened. She had travelled all the way from Illinois in the United States of America to come to Tokyo, Japan. She knew next to nothing of the language, besides the occasional hello, farewell, thank you, and a little of their honorifics due to anime she watched back home. She felt awkward trying to speak another language, hating how she could not quite say the foreign words right. It was a pain. And now she was smack in the middle of Japan central, surrounded by both humans and yōkai. The worst part was, yōkai would mock and taunt her due to her inability to barely understand them. She hoped she caught the language quickly otherwise she was in for a painful rehabilitation life.

Stepping up to the gate, she watched as the cameras mounted on the posts turned towards her.

' _Hello?'_ a voice called out from the intercom in Japanese.

Recognising the one word, Jasmine leaned closer to the intercom so she could be heard.

'I'm Jasmine Sarish Samaira. I'm the new student,' she answered in English.

' _Wait one moment,'_ the male said.

Jasmine gave the intercom box a quizzical look but decided against speaking up. She clutched her handbag and suitcase handle tightly, mixed coloured eyes eyeing the gates nervously. Her palms turned clammy. She had to fight the urge to set something ablaze. She fought it down, knowing that she'd only get in trouble for unleashing her powers out of nervous habit. That'll only show that she's dangerous in public. She couldn't turn to her habit of setting things alight, or manipulating the other elements, just to help calm her heightened emotions. She was going to have to learn self-restraint.

Taking a deep breath, Jasmine released as much pent-up nervousness in that one exhale. She felt calmer, controllable, but she'd feel a whole lot better surrounded by nature itself rather than the busy streets of Tokyo at her back.

' _Go on in,'_ the sudden sound of the man's voice startled Jasmine out of her thoughts.

' _Thank you,'_ she responded in Japanese when the gates began to swing silently open.

She wheeled her suitcase behind her as she headed towards the school. It was only as she was halfway across the pebbled road that she realised she didn't have a single clue as to where she was going. She didn't know where the dormitories were, nor did she know the directions to the reception to direct her. She was completely lost and she hadn't even stepped foot inside the building itself.

Why couldn't they have provided a map of the grounds? At least then she wouldn't feel quite as lost or stupid about wandering around aimlessly. Then again, she should have looked it up online and printed out a map herself.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ she cursed herself.

As she struggled to pull her suitcase along on the pebbled road, she heard the distinctive sound of barking. It was clearly playful, not vicious, but it sounded more feral than a regular dog's. What worried her was the numerous amounts of barks, all of different pitches. To hear so many at one time clearly told her that a pack of wolf-like dogs were ahead. Was it normal for a school to have animals? Or was this some sort of special occasion? Perhaps they were wild and had infiltrated the grounds. If they were wild, why did they sound so playful?

A light feminine laugh rang out.

It was not until she heard that laugh that she realised how tense she had become. Exhaling in relief, Jasmine headed towards the sound, curious as to what was going on.

'Joker, get your butt back here!'

Hearing the English language being spoken so properly and in a playful manner, with a British accent in the undertones, Jasmine felt instantly relieved. She was not alone in speaking a foreign first language. At least now she didn't have to suffer the humiliation of not being able to understand Japanese alone. It was wrong to think like that but she was unable to help herself. Feeling so suddenly elated, Jasmine followed the female's voice but stopped when a four-foot black wolf charged over to her, large pink tongue lolling out its mouth. She had to admit, the dog looked completely daft with its tongue hanging out and white left eyepatch.

'No.'

Hearing the word in a dominant tone, the wolf skidded on its paws and came to a stop an inch away from Jasmine's chest. Staring into the wolf's yellow eyes, Jasmine felt overwhelmed with the need to back away from such an intimidating creature, no matter how daft it looked.

'Don't move.'

Not understanding who she was talking to, Jasmine remained still, eyes staring into the extremely intelligent eyes of the wolf that had almost run her over a second ago. Before she knew what was happening, someone slightly smaller than her got between her and the wolf and began making the animal back up. The overwhelming uncertainty began to uncurl from within her chest as the distance between her and the wolf increased. Exhaling in relief, Jasmine eyed the one who commanded the wolf.

She was short, five-two in height with extremely long bright blonde hair that curled at her ankles in thick waves. The intensity of her hair beneath the sunlight made Jasmine want to look away, but she found that she was unable to look away. It was all she could see. She couldn't even see the unbelievably large wolf around her. What was clear to Jasmine was that she was the dominant to the wolf, which was surprising.

'I am so sorry. Are you alright?'

Jasmine didn't realise that she was now staring into a pair of large sparkling gem green eyes until she had spoken. Those pretty eyes were set in a smooth, fair skinned, blemish free, face, outlined with red eyeshadow that sweeps beneath her under eyes. She had a long fringe that was parted on the left and swept over to the right. It successfully hid her forehead. And though Jasmine hated fringes, she found that hers made her look extremely cute and beautiful at the same time. She wore an off-the-shoulders baggy green top that showed her royal blue bra straps and red stripes on her shoulders that disappeared beneath her top. For her bottoms, she wore tight jeans that showcased her toned thighs. A pair of sandals completed her outfit.

A hand waved in front of Jasmine's face, snapping her out of her thoughts.

'Are you alright? Do you not know English?'

Jasmine shook herself. 'Sorry.'

She smiled, appearing angelic and stepped back to give Jasmine room. As she did, Jasmine took note of the many wolves that now sat behind her. The female looked over her shoulder at them upon noticing Jasmine's uneasy stare.

'Oh, them? You needn't fear them. They won't do anything.'

'Erm, thank you. You know…for stopping your…wolf.'

Jasmine cursed herself. _What the hell's wrong with me? She's just another girl. I shouldn't feel so flustered. But she's so pretty, and she's definitely not human._

'Maybe I should take you to the nurse's office,' the girl said snapping Jasmine out of her thoughts.

'No, no, I'm fine.'

'You sure?' the girl asked uncertainly. 'You don't look fine.'

'No really, I'm fine.'

'If you say so,' she said with a shrug of her shoulders. 'And Joker's not a wolf. Well, not fully. He's a wolf hybrid.'

'But he looks so much like a wolf, well minus the eyepatch. And why's he so big?'

'That's his yōkai genetics,' she answered with a smile.

'Do they even allow pets at school?'

'They're not pets,' she said offended. 'They're my pack. Family.'

'Sorry,' Jasmine said lowering her head.

She giggled. It was short and quiet, but it was enough to ease the tension.

'You must be lost,' she stated.

Jasmine felt embarrassed. 'Yeah…'

'I was too when I first got here,' she admitted. 'I'll take you to the dorms, just follow me.'

Jasmine, grateful to have met her, followed her as she led the way to the side of the school, a path she hadn't noticed before leading further away from the large building. The trees along the sides successfully hide the path from sight, but made a shaded passage. The wolf hybrids sniffed at her as they came close, then grew uninterested and darted off into the trees to play with each other. Jasmine watched as the girl's hair swayed back and forth with her movements, her hips swaying almost seductively from side to side. She was certain that the girl was not conscious of her actions. Perhaps she naturally walked like a seducer? She certainly didn't look the type to give herself to men.

'Oh!' the girl suddenly said, almost scaring Jasmine. She turned so that she was walking backwards, hands behind her back. 'My name's Akemi, Taiyō Akemi. What's your name?'

'Jasmine Sarish Samaira,' she answered, unable to help smiling at the innocent smile the girl was giving her.

 _Yup, definitely not a prostitute_ , she thought gratefully.

'You're…Japanese?' she asked her hesitantly.

'Half,' Akemi answered. 'My mother's from England.'

'But your name's completely Japanese.'

'Family tradition. The first born of the family must be given a Japanese name. My mother followed this tradition for the sake of my father. What about you? I'm curious.'

She was much too eager to turn the subject away from herself, Jasmine noted. Either she was generally more interested in others than speaking about herself, or she was purposely avoiding personal questions. Akemi was either the distant type of person or a schemer. Schemers were naturally good actors. It wouldn't surprise Jasmine if her innocence was actually fake. But there was pain in her eyes whenever she talked about herself. It was only brief, but it had been there. Akemi was good at covering her emotions well. Jasmine didn't know what had made her that way, but she knew that Akemi was not scheming anything. She was genuine.

'I was born in Illinois in America,' Jasmine answered.

'I've never been to America, but I've met plenty of djinn in my time. None as young as you though.'

Jasmine stared at her in surprise. 'You know what am I? How?'

'Djinn emit an unusual fiery scent. Not many know how to recognise this, but for those that do, they'll not likely to forget. Yours is a little more concealed under your vanilla oatmeal scent, but it's there nevertheless.'

'You can't be human with a nose that good.'

'I'm a yōkai,' she said disinterestedly, not a hint of pride, as she turned back around.

She was certainly unlike the rest of the yōkai race who were maddeningly prideful and boastful because of their 'superior' genes. It was a relief to know that not every yōkai thought the same.

'What's Taishō High like?' Jasmine asked, jogging to walk side-by-side with Akemi.

'I haven't a clue,' she admitted grinning. 'I'm a new arrival like you.'

Jasmine stared at her in surprise. 'This is your first time here?'

Akemi nodded. 'I've been here for a while, so I've managed to see the grounds and get all my stuff in the dorm. By the way, we're roomies.'

'How do you know that?'

Akemi giggled. 'Your name was on the plague on the door alongside mine and three others.'

Jasmine, while still shocked at the news, was beyond grateful that she was roomed with such an innocent female. It was better than rooming with a stuck-up yōkai who'd look down on her because she wasn't a yōkai.

'That reminds me, I'd better show you the room so we can hurry to class. We're supposed to be there for second period.'

'Are you serious?' Jasmine yelled.

'Let's go,' Akemi said taking her wrist and running.

'Ah!' she screamed running at her side, dragged her suitcase along for the ride. 'Not so fast!'

* * *

 **Word Meanings**

The Japanese address themselves with their surnames first. Akemi is her forename, Taiyō her surname.


	4. Chapter 4

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. If you've read earlier chapters, then you should understand already. But I'll say it anyway. This is a joint story I made with LADY SILVERFOX charita rai. We do not own Inuyasha. We have all rights to this fanfiction story and our characters Jasmine Sarish Samaira and Taiyō Akemi. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review, most helpful. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'English'

' _Japanese'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Four**

'Do you even know where you're going?' Jasmine cried out as Akemi once again dragged her behind.

'The big building, right?' Akemi questioned.

'What about the classroom? Do you know where it is?'

'Nope,' she answered cheerfully, popping the p.

Jasmine sighed but let herself be dragged by the two-inch shorter female, whose strength could quickly turn fatally painful. She was still surprised how gently Akemi held onto her, it was almost as if she were afraid of hurting her. She certainly acted different to the rest of the yōkai race. The fact that she was gentle of her strength with her, how she appeared indifferent about being a yōkai, and how she treated those wolf-like dog yōkai was surprising. Jasmine's experience with yōkai had been the complete opposite. They had been so full of themselves, they belittled her, taunted her and had been damn right rude. Yes, it was the complete opposite reaction to Akemi. The difference between her and the other yōkai was that Akemi had known exactly what she was right away, the others had not.

 _But she's still a yōkai,_ Jasmine thought eyeing the blonde girl's back suspiciously. _She could be acting to be my friend and then drop and humiliate me like those boys had done in high school. Can I really trust her?_

The sound of a door slamming closed snapped Jasmine out of her thoughts. She eyed the multitude of shoe lockers.

'What number is your locker?' Akemi asked turning to her.

'I have a locker?' Jasmine asked incredulously.

Akemi blinked her mesmerising green eyes. 'It explains in the letter of acceptance that we each have a shoe locker since it's in the Japanese custom to wear a different pair of shoes indoors.'

'Erm…'

'Do you at least have your letter on you?'

Jasmine shook her head.

Akemi sighed through her nose. 'How clean are the bottoms?'

Jasmine lifted her shoes to check the soles and showed them to her.

'That's good enough,' she said and ran a hand through her blaringly light hair. 'I'm sure the headmaster will understand since it's your first time experiencing the Japanese custom.'

Jasmine let out a sigh of relief. 'For a second I thought you was going to say we'd have to go back to the dorms to find out the number.'

Akemi smiled at her. 'I was told that we needed to be there by second period. We won't make it if we went back just so you could wear the proper shoes.'

'Did the letter mention anything about what classroom we're in?' Jasmine asked hopefully. She really didn't want to get lost.

Akemi placed a finger to her chin in thought. 'In my letter it mentioned that I was in a specially formed class due to being older than eighteen.'

'Really?' Jasmine said perking up. 'So did mine!'

'Well then, we're on the top floor where the older students are placed. Room three sixty-six.'

Jasmine groaned. 'That's going to be a lot of stairs,' she said looking at the school.

Akemi nodded. 'I wonder how many there are.'

Jasmine looked at her in complete shock. 'You're kidding me?!'

'What?' Akemi asked innocently.

'You're not serious, are you? You actually count stairs?'

Akemi shrugged her shoulders, a blush tainted her cheeks. 'I guess…'

'I'm beginning to wonder what your childhood was like.'

The blush darkened at her words. 'Let's just get to class.'

Jasmine giggled at first before bursting out laughing.

'Come on,' Akemi said grabbing her hand and dragging her inside the building.

* * *

Akemi and Jasmine stood outside room 3-66. The pair of them looked at each other, looks of concern, shock and uncertainty chased away all previous thoughts of positivity.

The noise of the class had escalated so much that the two friends were unsure on whether or not to enter and draw attention. The main voice that screamed above the rest was a female's. A male tried to override her, but they matched and overtook each other every time. There was a second female involved. Her voice was hoarse from all the screaming she had done that she could barely be heard above the others. It was a serious argument, one that should have been left for another time and where there weren't witnesses. But if they wanted to publicise their lovers spat, neither of the girls wanted to get involved.

'Now what do we do?' Jasmine whispered to Akemi. 'We can't go in like this.'

'We're going to have to sneak in,' Akemi finally whispered back

'In the midst of a fight?'

The blonde merely nodded.

Jasmine sighed. 'Do we really have to?'

She nodded again.

'Fine,' the brunette grumbled.

Akemi turned to the door. As silently as she could, she slid the door open and slipped into the room with Jasmine following hot on her heels.

No one paid the pair any attention as they were too focused on the lovers quarrel near the window. There were two black haired girls, both beautiful, but the mature looking one had her black hair pulled back into a low ponytail and a straight cut fringe. She wore a very short black pleated skirt that with a slight breeze would reveal what type of knickers she was wearing. Her white blouse had been turned into a belly top, where the bottom half had been knotted, and the rest was left unbuttoned to reveal a bright red bra. She had a pair of black suspender tights that did not go well with the white school shoes. She looked like a damn prostitute that had been picked up off the corner.

The other black haired woman was younger with a long fringe that only enhanced her beauty. Like the older woman who she was almost the spitting image of, she had a pair of brown eyes. The difference was that she had large brown eyes and the older one did not. Her black hair was left to fall against her back to her waist in slight waves. She wore a pretty blue sundress and a white cardigan that was done up by the top button, and the same white shoes as her doppelgänger.

The male involved in the argument was a long silver haired male wearing an outdated red haori and ballooned hakama. His golden eyes had slit pupils and they were glaring expressively at the whore-looking female. His hands were shoved into his sleeves, his mouth opening and closing as he yelled. Atop his head was a pair of silver ears that announced his hanyō status. His skin was fair, only a touch tanner than the two females.

'No way!' Akemi whispered, stepping to hide behind Jasmine's back. 'Don't let him see me.'

'Who?' Jasmine asked, looking over her shoulder at her cowering friend.

The five-foot-two woman peeked over her shoulder and pointed to the male in red.

'That's Inuyasha, son of Tōga-ō the King of Japan. I like to call him Half Fluffy.'

'Wait, wait, wait,' Jasmine said, frowning slightly. 'That's Inuyasha of the Taishō family?'

'Yes,' Akemi said looking at her taller friend. 'Is that a problem?'

'How do you know someone like him?' she asked incredulously.

'That's a long story. I never expected him to be here. Actually, I hadn't counted on it.' Akemi sighed. 'Really bad timing.'

'You have a lot to explain,' Jasmine said unhappily.

'Yeah, yeah, yeah,' she said waving the subject away. 'Just don't let him see me. Not that he'll remember me, anyway,' she muttered the last part.

'What about the girls?'

Akemi shrugged her shoulders. 'Don't know either of them. But they're both humans, priestesses.'

Jasmine looked at her in shock. She decided that she was not going to question her considering she was a yōkai. Though Jasmine had no idea how to identify one yōkai from another, she had the feeling that her friend was either a dog yōkai or a wolf yōkai. She thought that since her pack members were wolf hybrids, she thought that perhaps the blonde was a mixed breed, a wolf hybrid yōkai like her pack mates. But there's no way anyone of wolf origin would know anyone of dog origins. Wolves could not stand the scent of dogs, and vice versa. Could she actually be a dog yōkai?

'What's with the ears?' Jasmine asked looking at the dog eared youth.

'He's a hanyō,' Akemi explained leaning her chin on her friend's shoulder. 'Half-demon, half-human.'

'That sucks.'

Akemi nodded in agreement. 'I see it as he gets the best of both worlds.'

'It also means that he's not accepted by either world.'

'True but not everyone sees his existence as a disgrace. I love my little Half Fluffy just the way he is.'

Jasmine gave her a look. 'You're not in love with him, are you?'

Akemi gave her a disgusted face. 'Would you date your brother?'

Jasmine scrunched her nose up. 'Hell no!'

'There you go. I see Inuya as my baby brother since he's only a little older than fifty years old, while I'm over seven hundred.'

Jasmine's mouth hung open. 'Y-you're over seven hundred?'

'What?' Akemi asked looking at her. 'I may not look my age, but I'm telling you I could be a human's mother fourteen times over if you consider their lifespans as an average of fifty years' old.'

'Damn,' Jasmine cursed. 'You could be my great grandmother and I wouldn't know it.'

Akemi laughed as loud as she dared. 'Don't be ridiculous. I've never been romantically involved with a djinn. Besides,' she leaned close enough for Jasmine to get chills from her warm breath on her ear, 'I'm still a virgin.'

Jasmine's mouth dropped even more. 'You're an ancient virgin?'

'Ssshhh!' Akemi hissed in her ear and squeezed her shoulders with her hands. 'Not so loud!'

Jasmine smirked at her.

'What?' Akemi glowered.

'Oh nothing. Just can't believe I've met a seven-hundred-year-old virgin.'

'And what? You've been with men yourself?' Akemi asked placing a fist on her hip.

Jasmine blushed and looked away.

'Just what I thought. You're as experienced with men as I am.'

'Actually, I just do not wish to discuss my sex life with a virgin.'

Akemi pouted and crossed her arms under her generous breasts. 'Stop rubbing it in.'

Jasmine chuckled and turned her attention back to the classroom.

'Woah!' she said so suddenly she caught Akemi's attention. 'What a hottie!'

'What?' the blonde asked and leaned her chin on her friend's shoulder again. 'What's get your knickers twisted in excitement?'

Jasmine gave her a glare and pointed to the object of her fascination.

'Who's tall, dark and broody?'

Akemi spotted him at the far back of the room, leaning nonchalantly against the wall beside the open window. He too wore an outdated attire, white haori and white ballooned hakama tied together with a yellow and bluish purple sash. The collar and sleeves were decorated with red cherry blossom crests that announced his royal heritage. A large thick white pelt was extended over his right shoulder, curled beneath his armpit and extended to the ground. His long silver hair almost blended together with his clothing if it weren't for the light blue tinge to it. Thick black lashes extended over a pair of golden eyes that extended hostilities and disinterestedness in every glance. Normally he'd be accompanied by a green skinned small creature, but the thing was nowhere to be seen.

Upon seeing him, Akemi tried to appear smaller behind Jasmine's back.

'Okay, forget shielding me from Inuya, don't let _him_ see me!' she pleaded.

'Yeah? Why? Who is he?'

'That's Sesshōmaru, Inuyasha's older half-brother and Tōga-ō's first child. I dubbed him as Lord Fluffy.'

'No way!' Jasmine said aghast. 'He's _the_ Sesshōmaru! Wow! The brothers certainly look like one another.'

'The difference is their attitudes, height and their eyes.'

'You're right!' Jasmine observed. 'Sesshōmaru's eyes are so cold. Now I know why he's called the Man of Ice.'

Akemi giggled. 'That's Sesshōmaru for you.'

'You're quite fond of him, aren't you?'

Akemi choked on air. 'F-fond? Of Sesshōmaru? Me? Don't be absurd!'

'Then why are you avoiding him?'

Akemi looked away. 'It's complicated.'

'Then make up!' she said smiling.

'It's not what you think it is,' Akemi protested.

'Then why _are_ you avoiding him?'

'It's complicated!' Akemi said quickly and looked away, a flush spreading across her cheeks.

Jasmine grinned and snatched her wrist and dragged her after her as she made her way through the maze of desks and chairs. She made sure to skirt around the outside of the crowd as to not meet resistance.

Akemi, not used to being dragged, tried to overcome the shock as she stared at Jasmine's back. She was unaware of where Jasmine was taking her, not until it was too late. As Jasmine stopped, she peered around her friend's back and froze in place as her green eyes locked with a pair of unfeeling gold ones set into a gorgeously pale skinned face highlighted by the reddish-purple stripes on his cheeks, red ones on his eyelids and the waning blue crescent moon blaring between his bangs. Akemi swallowed her nerves that's had seven hundred years to develop.

'Yo, Lord Fluffy,' Jasmine greeted, making Akemi's fair skin pale in fear for her friend's life.

Sesshōmaru glared at Jasmine, who flinched at the gaze but did not back up.

'It's _Lord Sesshōmaru_ to you, filthy human,' Sesshōmaru said in surprisingly good English.

 _Fuck,_ Akemi cursed smacking her forehead. _Jasmine's gone and shortened her lifespan._

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Yōkai – demon

Hanyō – half-demon half-human


	5. Chapter 5

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. Thank you to everyone who's followed, favourite and reviewed. This is a joint story with LADY SILVERFOX charita rai who owns Jasmine. I own Akemi and the plot (with SILVERFOX's added ideas), nothing else. We wish we owned Inuyasha but sadly that's just a dream. Well, on with the story. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'English'

' _Japanese'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Five**

Akemi wanted to bury herself, deep.

She had not expected to encounter the Taishō siblings, especially not in this human and yōkai rehabilitation school. Given Sesshōmaru's hatred towards the human species, it made sense why he had been enrolled here. Inuyasha's problem was both species, so to be forced to face both of them in a rehabilitation school also made sense. What Akemi couldn't fathom was her bad luck of having to be enrolled at the same time that they happened to be attending the school. Was Fate trying to say something?

She shook that thought aside and focused on her friend squaring up to Sesshōmaru.

 _I can't believe she actually_ dared _to call him Lord Fluffy. Does she have a death wish?_ Akemi thought with wide green eyes.

'What do _you_ want?' Sesshōmaru growled out in disgust.

' _I_ don't want anything from you,' Jasmine said cheerily.

Akemi felt fear surge through her as Jasmine dragged her in front of her and before Sesshōmaru's judgemental eyes. His golden slit eyes peered right through her to the very core of her being, stripping her bare and exposing her darkest secrets.

Wouldn't he love that if he was capable of doing that? But Akemi wasn't cowed by him. She did not fear him like everyone else naturally did. No, Akemi feared confronting him after seven hundred years. Her family and her had to leave Japan to return to their home in England to deal with family issues that had arisen. Since then, Akemi's been unable to return until recently. It wouldn't surprise her if Sesshōmaru, Inuyasha and Tōga-ō all believed that she and her family were dead. It was the truth when it concerned the rest of her family, being the sole survivor of the massacre of her House. It had taken seven hundred years to restore it to the glory it was now.

'Go on,' Jasmine encouraged giving Akemi a little push.

Akemi said nothing but watched his reaction.

His nostrils barely moved as he took in her scent. His eyes widened a fraction as the scent of a dog yōkai assaulted him. But that wasn't all, a very familiar burst of berry, beneath an overtone of apple, infiltrated his nasal cavities and tore through barriers without him knowing. Something tugged at his mind but he was unable to grasp it. It was strange how all of a sudden her gem green eyes looked familiar. But for the life of him he could not remember seeing such clear green eyes. So why was both his mind and his beast stirring at seeing her? He could even hear his beast whining and feel it pulling to be closer to her.

'Don't just stand there!' Jasmine said irritated to Akemi. 'Say something to him!'

Akemi's cheeks slightly flushed and she looked away, an action that reminded Sesshōmaru of someone he once knew.

Akemi turned her back to him and raised her hands to her chest. 'I…can't,' she whispered to Jasmine.

Jasmine's two-toned eyes softened at the watery look in her friend's eyes. 'I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you to face it before you were ready.'

Akemi shook her head, shaking away few loose tears, and smiled up at her. 'You were just trying to help.'

Jasmine smiled. 'I'd do anything to help my friends.'

Akemi's smile brightened.

'Come on, Akemi, let's find our seats.'

Akemi nodded in agreement.

But before she could take a step, arms suddenly wrapped around her waist, pinning her arms against her sides. Anger unfurled in her stomach at a stranger touching her, and just as she began to struggle against the hold, the person buried their nose against her neck and began inhaling her scent like a druggie. Akemi's cheeks flamed red at the intimate hold, one that only privileged few were allowed. This person was not one of them. She began struggling again, but the person tightened their arms around her to the point of pain.

Akemi bit her bottom lip to prevent from releasing a hiss of pain.

' _Stop struggling,'_ Sesshōmaru's voice said into her ear in Japanese.

'What the hell are you doing?' she demanded, cheeks a dark red for two reasons.

Jasmine turned around at that point and gasped loudly with a blush of her own at the intimidate position between the two. To Jasmine, it was a lover's hold where the male embraced his lover from behind, wrapping her protectively in his hold and his face buried in her neck. In Sesshōmaru's arms, Akemi looked so small and fragile. The deep blush on her face told Jasmine that she was not only embarrassed with the position but she was also angry.

'What are you doing to Akemi you pervert?' Jasmine snapped.

The class immediately quietened at her voice. Even the argument had drawn to a stop. Everyone's eyes immediately turned to the three of them at the back. Everyone's eyes bugged out of their heads at the sight of Sesshōmaru _willingly_ wrapped around a female and that his head was buried against her neck. It was so quiet it was unnerving and it only brought more embarrassment to Akemi who was unable to do anything to get out of Sesshōmaru's arms.

'Let. Me. Go!' Akemi said wriggling in his arms to try and get away.

A male suddenly burst out laughing, causing Akemi's already reddened face to turn tomato red. She hung her head to hide her face behind her fringe.

Jasmine felt anger at the one who was laughing, but the crowd was so thick that she couldn't find him to yell at him. But her anger was mainly focused on Sesshōmaru who _refused_ to let Akemi go. Turning to the silver haired male, she was about ready to let curses fly from her mouth when a female beat her to it.

' _What the fuck is this?'_

A dark brunette emerged forth from the crowd, more like pushed her way through, with the black haired slut who had been arguing. Her red eyes were murderous as she glared at Akemi who had turned to her with wide eyes. The brunette's hair was tied up into a ponytail, feathers adorned into the hairstyle. She had a middle parting fringe. She wore a black corset over a very low-cut red top that revealed most of her cleavage. She wore a short red checkered skirt that was just as revealing as her friend's. She looked the type to be wearing thigh-high heeled boots but obviously had to settle for the white shoes that turned her outfit uglier than it was already.

' _Get your filthy hands off of my man!'_ she spat in Japanese before storming over to Akemi, whipping a fan out from between her breasts.

How she managed to hide it down there was a mystery.

Jasmine turned to Akemi. 'What's slut number two saying?'

Akemi struggled to hide a smile at the comment. 'Apparently, Sesshōmaru's into dating whores from off the streets.'

Arms tightened around her waist, causing Akemi to grimace in pain before a growl from the chest at her back vibrated against her in warning.

'Jerk!' she spat over her shoulder at the yōkai. 'If you don't like the accusations, address the culprit yourself!'

' _Are you listening to me?'_ slut number two screeched.

'Who are you?' Sesshōmaru asked Akemi in English, completely ignoring the female getting closer.

Akemi glared. 'You'll find out soon enough. Now let me go.'

Sesshōmaru's golden eyes narrowed. He growled at her. 'You will answer me!'

'Sorry, Fluffy, but I don't listen to commands,' she said and tossed her head away in a huff, giving him a face full of blonde hair.

Sesshōmaru fought a grin. He leaned back down to her neck and gave her a long meaningful lick.

Akemi squealed in embarrassment making him chuckle in amusement.

Just as she struggled, he suddenly released her making her fall to her knees. Before she could get to her feet, her hair was fisted in someone's rough hand and dragged her to her feet. Harmonious green eyes stared into spitfire red ones. The sneer on the female's face made her ugly, adding wrinkles that shouldn't be there. The fan tipped her chin back, forcing Akemi to look up at her as if she were looking at a superior being.

' _Get your filthy whoring hands off of me, you sket!'_ Akemi hissed in Japanese before knocking her hands off her.

' _Bitch!'_ she screeched and swung her now open fan at her.

The edges of the fan had been sharpened to the point it would easily slice through flesh. Before it could get any closer, Akemi karate chopped the weapon out of her hands and punched her right in the jaw. The force made the bitch fly into the air and crash into a desk that broke under her weight. Akemi's green eyes had hardened until they looked venomous. Her friend, just another slut, charged her, screaming an unimpressive war cry. Akemi felt like smacking her one just as she had done with the other, but she was suddenly picked up and thrown by none other than Inuyasha.

' _Fight fair you cheating bitch!'_ he shouted at her.

' _Stay out of this, Inuyasha!'_ slut number one screamed at him and charged Akemi again.

Kagome got between them and kicked her doppelgänger in the stomach, causing her to cough and collapse to her knees.

Jasmine stepped up to Akemi's side. 'Hey bitches!' she shouted, a wicked gleam entering her two-toned eyes, unaware that they probably didn't understand what she was saying. 'Go near my friend again and I'll fucking flambé you. Got that?'

The brunette got to her feet and charged, punching Jasmine in the stomach and slashing at Akemi with her fan, cutting deep into her left cheek. Blood pooled on the floor, shocking Akemi. Raising a hand to her cheek, she gingerly touched the wound and brought her fingers away covered in blood. The whites of her eyes turned red and her green eyes suddenly turned blue. A heavy presence descended upon the room, causing both humans and yōkai to gasp at the weight. But it suddenly abated as quickly as it appeared as she felt Jasmine's power slip out of her control.

Rather than flambéing the two girls like she had threatened, the distinctive smell of mud and poo infiltrated Akemi's sensitive nose. It had happened in a split second, at the same time that Akemi's control of her yōki almost slipped, when Jasmine's power had telekinetically thrown mud and poo at the girls, successfully splattering straight onto their faces, getting into their hair, on their clothes, up their noses, and down their mouths. She might have even got it into their eyes, if she had been lucky enough.

Akemi's anger vanished as quickly as it had come. Pinching her nose closed due to the overpowering scent, she laughed at the girls, closely followed by the rest of the classroom. Tears of laughter made seeing impossible, so she closed her eyes and laughed even harder.

At the same time, both girls wiped the mud and poo off their faces and flicked it onto the floor. As everyone just laughed at them, clutching their stomachs that were now aching, the two girls sputtered and spat out the mixed contents. When they could finally see again, meaning that it hadn't got into their eyes, they both screamed as soon as they saw the mud not taking into account that there was poo mixed in as well. Slut number one sniffed herself and screamed high pitched at the smell of shit and stomped her foot angrily.

As this was going on, Sesshōmaru leaned back against the wall, smirking at the show.

' _Bitch!'_ the pair screamed at Jasmine who had no clue as to what they just said.

Just as the pair charged to get revenge, Jasmine's lack of control over her powers suddenly caused their hairs to ignite. The pair screamed even louder, only heightening the roaring laughter of the entire class, as they ran around in circles like headless chickens in an attempt to put the fire out. In the end, slut number two used her fan to generate enough wind to snuff the flames out. They both then turned to Jasmine with death glares.

' _I think that's enough, Kikyō, Kagura,'_ Inuyasha said around his grin. _'Don't humiliate yourselves further and leave things at that.'_

Kikyō and Kagura were both fuming, fists clenched at their sides.

' _Akemi, was it?'_ Sesshōmaru said in Japanese, drawing everyone's attention.

Akemi turned to him in confusion.

He grabbed her chin between thumb and forefinger and tilted her head to the side, exposing her cut cheek to his gaze. He leaned down and licked the wound and the blood, surprising everyone into shock.

Akemi's face turned fifty shades of red, but she glared up at him.

He smirked at her before letting her go and resuming his leaning position against the window.

' _Bastard!'_ she cursed at him, still insanely blushing.

' _I told you not to touch my man!'_ Kagura yelled and charged Akemi.

Akemi clenched her fist and swung as she approached, knocking her into the wall at the back, cracking the chalkboard into a slut shape just as the classroom door opened to reveal a silver haired yōkai with gold eyes, blue jagged stripes on his cheeks, and wearing the traditional haori and hakama just like the Taishō siblings. As he stepped into the classroom, face thunderous, the room fell into a dead apprehensive silence. He looked at Kagura, took in Kikyō's appearance, his golden eyes looked angrily at his sons – who both tensed up at his arrival since they hadn't expected it – and then settled onto Akemi, who was frozen with disbelief. At first shock filled his eyes but then they turned into a disapproving anger.

He crossed his arms.

' _Kagura, Kikyō, Kagome, Rin, Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, Sesshōmaru, and you two,'_ he said pointing to Akemi and Jasmine – to which he eyed her star, clouds and moon clothing. _'Follow me.'_

Jasmine sidled up to Akemi as they followed the tall yōkai behind Sesshōmaru who looked beyond annoyed.

'Who was that?' she whispered directly into her ear, tiptoeing to eye the really tall yōkai's butt as he moved.

Akemi leaned over to make sure that Sesshōmaru couldn't hear what she was going to say. 'That's Tōga-ō, King of Japan, Sesshōmaru's and Inuyasha's father. His nickname from me is King Fluffy.'

'That is one fine dilf,' she said appreciatively.

Akemi choked on air, causing Sesshōmaru to look over his shoulder at them. She smiled nervously at him and he turned back to the front. She released a sigh of relief and then glared at her friend.

'Do not ever say that again.'

'But he is!' she complained with a pout. 'And what's with Lord Fluffy licking your neck and face?' she asked slyly, wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

Akemi blushed fifty shades of red again and glared at her. 'We dog yōkai have antiseptic tongues like dogs,' she explained.

'I get licking the wound, but why the neck?'

Akemi blushed darker. 'Shut up!' she snapped, having everyone turn to them, only making her blush even darker in embarrassment.

Jasmine smirked in victory as Akemi just glowered at her until she hung her head the rest of the walk.

 _Great, punished by King Fluffy,'_ Akemi thought with a sigh. _This is not going to be pleasant._

* * *

 **Word meanings**


	6. Chapter 6

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness, I am your host, Kitty. This story is joint owned by me and LADY SILVERFOX charita rai. We own our OCs and the plotline, we do not own the Inuyasha cast, although it would be a dream come true. Now, onto the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'English'

' _Japanese'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Six**

The ten of them followed the angered yōkai into the headmaster's office with their heads lowered in shame. Well, except Sesshōmaru. He strode into the room as if he owned it. His own angry jaki flared that reflected in his emotionally withdrawn eyes as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Inuyasha leaned against the opposite wall with his arms in his sleeves, his own grumpiness visible in his expression. Miroku, Sango, Kagome and Rin joined their hanyō friend. Kagura and Kikyō moved over to Sesshōmaru's side of the room, Kagura the closest to the eldest prince of Japan. This left both Jasmine and Akemi to stand in the centre of the room, surrounded on all sides by everyone, foretelling their neutral position in the school.

' _Where's the headmaster?'_ Sango asked in Japanese.

Jasmine looked lost and turned to Akemi who translated what the female had said without even looking at her.

' _Currently unavailable so I've filled in for him,'_ Tōga-ō answered leaning his butt against the oak desk and crossed his arms, looking very much like his two sulking sons, only much more mature. _'I don't want any shit. Who started it?'_

The room was filled with heavy silence.

' _Fine. The one to admit who started this mess will get lighter punishment.'_

' _It's all that bitch's fault!'_ Kagura yelled while pointing at Akemi. _'She just came waltzing into the classroom and hit Kikyō and me!'_

Akemi glared murderously at the brunette, green eyes flashing blue while the sclera turned red.

Jasmine's temper got the best of her, and though she hadn't understood a single thing that had been said, she knew that Slut Number Two had definitely pinpointed the blame entirely on her friend. If the whore shouting wasn't enough of vindication, then the murderous look on her friend's face was certainly all she needed to see to understand exactly what was said.

'Now hold on just a minute!' Jasmine said angrily, her voice overriding Kagura's. 'Other than Sesshōmaru, I'm not sure if anyone else understands me, but Akemi's not in the wrong! Slut Face,' she pointed at Kikyō, 'was arguing with Half Fluffy and her much cuter doppelgänger,' pointed at Inuyasha and Kagome, 'when we already arrived!'

'We'll need to address this language barrier for your classes afterwards,' Tōga-ō said in good English, a smirk of amusement briefly tugged at his mouth from the nicknames. He was even better than Sesshōmaru!

Jasmine blushed when his eyes locked with hers. 'Akemi's helping me with that…actually,' she said shyly.

'And the classes you don't share?' he asked raising an eyebrow.

She merely flushed darker and looked away from his eyes.

'We'll talk afterwards.' He then turned to Sesshōmaru. _'Why did you not stop Inuyasha, Kikyō and Kagome from arguing?'_ he said addressing his son in Japanese.

Sesshōmaru frowned. _'First you force me to attend this worthless place, and now you expect me to babysit these weaklings? Just who do you take me for, chichiue?'_

Tōga-ō frowned at his son. _'You are my heir, Sesshōmaru. It is your duty to oversee your subjects and to ensure peace between the species.'_

Akemi snorted unladylike and quickly averted her eyes from Sesshōmaru's glare and Tōga-ō's quizzical gaze.

' _Do you have something to say, Taiyō Akemi?'_

 _Shit! He knows!_ Akemi cursed and peered up at him like a pup who had been scolded and knows it was in the wrong.

His golden stare told her that he was definitely going to confront her afterwards. He looked over at his eldest son and saw his golden eyes slightly widened at the name. His gaze quickly hardened and he looked ready to drag Akemi out of the room and shake her harshly. Glancing back at Akemi told him that she had been gorging his reaction out of the corner of her eyes, and she had grimaced. Now Sesshōmaru was aware of who she really was and why she was familiar to him. Tōga-ō wanted to laugh at the way she wanted to bolt or just punch Sesshōmaru's daylights out. She always did have mixed reactions to his eldest son and heir.

' _No,'_ she finally answered, although her tone said otherwise.

'Alright – Jasmine was it? – why don't you tell us the story of why I found Akemi punching Kagura into the chalkboard and how Akemi's cheek got cut,' Tōga-ō said turning to her.

No one but Akemi and Sesshōmaru knew what had been said. Neither of them turned to look at her, releasing a bit of pressure that had suddenly been thrusting upon the brunette's shoulders. Sesshōmaru closed his eyes while Akemi looked down at the floor, fiddling with the hem of her top. Jasmine took a deep breath to steady her overworking nerves. She then locked her two-toned eyes with Tōga-ō's to relate the story. She believed that eye contact was crucial for others to believe what they were being told.

'I'm not sure what to say,' Jasmine said.

'Start after you've entered the classroom,' Tōga-ō suggested.

Jasmine nodded. 'After entering the classroom, Akemi acted weird when she saw Inuyasha and even worse when she saw Sesshōmaru, after I spotted him in his little corner. She explained to me who they were since I didn't know what the princes of Japan looked like. I thought that something had happened to cause Akemi's discomfort around Sesshōmaru. I was concerned, so I thought that it would be better for the two to make up.'

'Make up? Why would you think they needed to do that?'

Jasmine shrugged. 'I thought that maybe they left each other on bad terms. I just didn't want to see her uncomfortable, so I dragged her over to him to help her confront the issue. And that's when Sesshōmaru acted all lovey-dovey with her by hugging her from behind and licked her neck.'

Sesshōmaru growled. 'This Sesshōmaru was not being lovey-dovey!'

Akemi snapped her head up and growled back at Sesshōmaru in response to the threatening act towards her friend.

Tōga-ō frowned at his son. 'No interruptions, Sesshōmaru.'

Jasmine smiled at her friend's protectiveness and looked back at Tōga-ō. 'Whore Face,' she said, pointing at Kagura.

'Kagura,' he interrupted.

Jasmine wanted to roll her eyes. ' _Kagura_ came screaming at Akemi and took out that fan,' she pointed to the fan that Kagura tried to subtlety hide but Sesshōmaru yanked it out of her hands and held it. 'She grabbed Akemi by her hair and pulled her to her feet after your son let her go. Akemi knocked her hands off her and _Kagura_ went to attack her. Akemi knocked her fan out of her hands and then punched her in the jaw. Her body weight destroyed the desk.'

Akemi sniggered at the cunning way she had called Kagura fat.

Tōga-ō gave her a disapproving look that made her whistle innocently.

'And then her friend, Slut Face-'

'Kikyō,' Tōga-ō amended, the corner of his mouth twitching.

'That's what I said, Slut Face. Anyway, she went to attack Akemi but your son, Half Fluffy, interfered and threw her.'

Tōga-ō tried to look disapproving at Jasmine, but he couldn't help but admire the fire in her. Even though the fight had ended, she was still trying to defend her friend. It was very admirable of her. It was rare to meet someone so loyal who'd defend those they considered close with such passion. And despite the shyness he could sense in her, there was something very powerful about her, something he couldn't ignore. She wasn't human, that much was obvious, but she was nothing like the typical yōkai. But was she a yōkai? She smelt nothing like one, smelling distinctively of fire and vanilla oatmeal, and she certainly didn't act like one either.

'And then?' he prompted.

Normally he would have asked someone else to fill in the rest, but he found himself drawn to her voice. He wanted her to talk for the sake of hearing her melodic voice.

'I threatened them,' she admitted with red cheeks. 'Not that it did any good since only Lord Fluffy and Akemi could understand me.'

When a low growl sounded, Akemi's own rising growl overpowered it, sending the room into a tense silence.

'Go on,' Tōga-ō said waving away their challenging behaviours.

'Whore Face, _Kagura_ ,' she amended at Tōga-ō's pointed look, 'punched me in the stomach and slashed Akemi across the cheek. I think Akemi was going to do something, but I lost control over my power in anger and they got splattered with mud…and poo,' she said lowering her head as she admitted what she'd done. 'Everyone laughed at them and they got angry. They charged us again,' her face darkened in embarrassment, 'and I lost control again, causing their hairs to light up. Inuyasha said something to them, and then Sesshōmaru began speaking to Akemi and licked the wound, _Kagura_ got upset and charged Akemi who then punched her into the chalkboard. And that was when you walked in.'

'I see,' he said and turned to Inuyasha. _'What were you, Kikyō and Kagome arguing about?'_

Inuyasha's face flamed red, as did Kagome's and Kikyō looked smug.

Akemi looked on in amusement at the way Inuyasha and the younger-looking doppelgänger both avoided each other's eyes.

Jasmine's eyes sparkled and she really wanted to 'aw' at them.

' _It was an old argument,'_ Inuyasha finally answered. _'Kikyō still claims that I'm her boyfriend and Kagome stuck up for me saying that she gave that up when she almost killed me. We just carried on arguing about it. It got out of hand.'_

' _That's an understatement, Inuyasha. You've disrupted this school and have caused a fight between two species.' Three,_ he added in his thoughts briefly glancing at Jasmine out of the corner of his eyes. _'Do you understand?'_

' _Yeah,'_ he answered dejectedly and looked at the floor.

He turned to the two whores – GIRLS – and frowned dangerously at them. _'Because of the two of you, you could have risked endangering the lives of every student in this entire school. And for these actions, you're going to have to be punished accordingly.'_ He faced Kikyō first. _'Kikyō, for your punishment you're to attend detention for the rest of the term and help out in the animal pens.'_ He faced Kagura. _'For the concealment of a weapon_ and _disrupting the peace within the school, you are to serve detention for the rest of the year, mucking out the animal pens and helping out with cleaning the auditorium before and after school for six months.'_

' _What?'_ the pair yelled.

' _You heard me,'_ he said narrowing his eyes. _'Neither of you have any kind of claim over my sons and you better learn this quickly. Now return to class.'_

' _Yes sir,'_ they bit off and left the room, slamming the door behind them.

' _Sango, Miroku, I expected better from the two of you. You should have at least tried to put an end to this before it got out of hand.'_ The pair of them looked at the floor. _'As for your punishment, you'll be working closely together for the next few weeks in exterminating rogue yōkai, detaining out of control humans and the other species.'_

' _Yes sir,'_ the pair answered and left the room after he dismissed them with a wave.

' _Kagome, you and Inuyasha are going to be spending the next few weeks in close proximity.'_ Inuyasha went to protest. _'Enough! You'll be escorting her around Inu Ind. and making sure that she takes the appropriate tests. I can sense reiryoku in her that has recently manifested.'_

' _Fine,'_ the hanyō grumbled and led Kagome out the room as soon as his 'punishment' had been given to the pair of them.

Tōga-ō turned to Rin. _'I apologise, Rin, for the terrible experience.'_

Rin smiled warmly. _'It's fine, Heika.'_

' _You're dismissed,'_ he said and she bowed and left the room.

He turned to Sesshōmaru and glowered.

' _You needn't say anything, chichiue,'_ he said stepping away from the wall.

' _Your actions were deplorable!'_ he said angrily. _'You do_ not _treat a lady like that! Especially in front of so many people! You'll be retaking Manner Classes until_ I _say you're ready! You will apologise to Akemi for your actions and you will make it up to her.'_

Sesshōmaru's left eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

Akemi burst out laughing. 'Apologise and make it up to me?' she said in English for Jasmine's benefit. 'You do know how hard it is for Fluffiness to apologise _and_ act kind? You'll be looking and pleading for a miracle.'

Tōga-ō turned to her. 'And what punishment do you think would fit him?'

Akemi gave him a questioningly look, since she could not raise an eyebrow to save her life.

'You're leaving the decision up to me?' she asked incredulously. She looked over at Sesshōmaru who was glaring at her because of the nickname. She grinned. 'Apologising and forcing him to be kind is punishment enough.'

 _Damnit_ , Sesshōmaru thought growling to himself and glaring a hole into Akemi's head because she didn't pick something – _anything_ – else.

'For your punishment,' Tōga-ō said snapping her attention back to him. 'You'll be joining Sesshōmaru's business, Inu Ind., and take the exams to become one of his members of security, exterminators and what other roles he suggests you take. If needed, Sesshōmaru will have you trained by someone or by himself.'

Akemi's mouth fell open just as Sesshōmaru's mouth tugged up into a smirk.

'Hold on a minute! I have to spend time with him?' Tōga-ō nodded. 'How long?'

'For as long as the contract states,' he said giving his son a look.

Sesshōmaru nodded.

'We'll discuss personal issues later,' he said dismissing his son and Akemi.

Just as Akemi was about to protest, Sesshōmaru grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the room with him.

This left Jasmine and Tōga-ō alone.

At this realisation, Jasmine blushed as she stood beneath his intense gaze.

'Though your powers are unstable and uncontrollable, you'll still have to be given a punishment for involving yourself in a fight that would have damaged the peace of this school.'

Jasmine flushed in shame, but she stared defiantly at him because she would do it all again to defend her friend. That was the way she was, and would always be. There's no way she was going to abandon a friend, even if their friendship had only just been made, just to protect a school's peaceful ways. Friends and family came first, everything else came second. Even though her heart pulsed in pain at the way he was looking at her, in disappointment, Jasmine would never regret her actions. She would never be made to regret her actions.

'For a month you'll be my personal secretary,' he said surprising her.

'That's it?' she asked astonished she wasn't getting anything else.

She couldn't consider that a punishment. She'll be spending time with him, or at least in near proximity to his sexiness.

She blushed at her thoughts.

He raised a thick eyebrow at her words. 'I'll also be personally helping you to control your abilities so that they cannot act out without you personally willing it to happen.'

Jasmine blushed in embarrassment.

'Just what are you? You're not human, because the power I can sense is not reiryoku. You're not yōkai. You neither smell nor act like one. Out of all the other species, you don't fit in any of the categories.' He frowned, mystified. 'What are you?'

 _Please do not ask a third time. Do not ask a third time!_ She pleaded in her mind.

As if a spell had been cast over him, Tōga-ō shook his head.

'Never mind,' he said. 'We'll begin tomorrow so you have time to settle in after school.'

Jasmine smiled and bowed shakily, unused to doing so. 'Thank you.'

'Do you remember your way back to class?' he asked politely.

She nodded. 'I remember the way,' she said.

He nodded in dismissal and she left the office.

Once outside she pumped her fist and let out a loud 'YES!'.

She smacked a hand over her mouth and quickly ran down the corridor just as Tōga-ō opened the door. She chuckled to herself and skipped merrily back to class, a goofy love-struck smile plastered to her face, her cheeks red, and her aura radiating warm energies that affected the heat of the atmosphere by accidently raising it.

Oh boy. Looks like the students are in for a very hot sweaty day.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Jaki – evil energy

Hanyō – half-demon half-human

Chichiue – father

Reiryoku – spiritual energy

Heika – your majesty


	7. Chapter 7

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. Congratulations, you've made it to chapter seven! I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far. I, alongside LADY SILVERFOX charita rai, own the story and our OCs Jasmine and Akemi. Like every other major fan of the Inuyasha series, we wish we owned it. Sadly, we do not. Onto the chapter! Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'English'

' _Japanese'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Seven**

'What did you do the temperature?' Akemi asked Jasmine as soon as the students had been released onto their lunchbreak. She soon scrutinised her taller friend with a frown. 'And what is that ridiculously creepy smile on your face?'

'What creepy smile?' she asked innocently.

'That one!' she pointed as Jasmine continued to smile.

'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'Yeah right,' she said disbelievingly as the pair made it outside.

Akemi stretched her arms above her head and tilted her head back to look up at the bright sky.

While the temperature had risen, the wind that blew in was cool and chased away the heat that clung to them. White fluffy clouds decorated the endless summer sky. The sun was a blazing ball of light in the sky, an object that was far too bright to stare directly at. The trees that dotted the courtyard sounded like waterfalls as the wind swept through them, but the sound was overridden by the constant talking of the students. It appeared that the entire student body had the same idea.

'There goes my idea to relax outside in peace,' Akemi muttered unhappily.

'It is a bit of a problem,' Jasmine admitted, much too happy to actually care.

Akemi groaned. 'Seriously! What the hell is the matter with you? You've been acting weird ever since you came out the headmaster's office.' Akemi's eyes narrowed. 'You fell in love with him, didn't you?'

Jasmine blushed and waved her hands frantically near her face. 'N-no!'

Akemi sighed and ran a hand through her sun-like locks. 'I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into.'

Jasmine blinked in confusion. 'I thought you would have been against it.'

'I knew it!' Akemi exclaimed, making Jasmine blush harder. She then looked out at the sea of students. 'Admittedly, you won't find yourself a better man than him. Just be aware that he's had his share of women throughout his life, but he's only ever committed himself to two people.'

Jasmine blinked, her eyes saddening at the news. 'Why are you telling me this?'

'Because you're my friend. I don't want you to get hurt. And besides, if you really like him that much, you'll eventually find out about this information anyway. The sooner you know about it, the less likely you'll get hurt by it later on.'

Jasmine smiled. 'You really care about me, don't you?'

Akemi blushed and looked away. 'Shut up,' she said lightly. 'I just told you I'm your friend, didn't I?'

Jasmine chuckled. 'You're so easy to tease.'

'Shut up,' she said unable to come up with a retort.

'What are we doing to do for the hour?'

'Well, we obviously need to eat,' Akemi pointed out.

'And run into those whores again?'

'Good point.'

'I know!' Jasmine said perking up. 'Let's check out our room. I never got the chance to properly look at it before you dragged me to second period.'

'Good idea,' Akemi agreed and started walking down the path that led to the dormitories with Jasmine at her side.

' _Hey! Wait up!'_

Akemi stopped and turned to the voice.

She saw Inuyasha along with a couple of others that had been in trouble earlier. The cuter doppelgänger was with him in her beautiful blue sundress and white cardigan. Her brown eyes were big, warm and gentle. The total opposite to that whore's. Her stature was short, around the same height as Akemi.

Standing at her side, closer than the other female, was almost a replica with spiky edged black hair and big brown eyes that were innocent, gentle and warm. A portion of her black hair and been pulled into a side ponytail that hung down to her hip while the rest went to her lower back. She was dressed in an orange sundress that was black at the hem and patterned with flowers as the dress lightened into yellow at the waist and then darkened for the torso. She was the same height as the other black haired female.

Standing on the other side of the one in a blue dress, but not as close as the other, was a third female with long dark brown hair that was pulled back into a loose ponytail. She was in a pair of black combat jeans and a blue tank top. Her eyes weren't as big as her friends, but they were open and friendly. She stood a little taller than her female friends, making her the tallest of the three.

Lastly was a short black haired male. His large eyes were blue, and he had one of those faces that reminded you of an earnest and sincere person, but also doubled as a pervert. He wore a black leather jacket over a purple top. A gold necklace hung around his neck, the charm was the top of a shakujō staff complete with six rings that jangled with his movements. He wore a pair of crosshatch jeans with multiple pockets. He was taller than all the girls but a couple of inches shorter than Inuyasha.

' _Yo,'_ Inuyasha greeted with an ear-splitting grin as he stood before them.

'Yo yourself,' Jasmine said with a smile.

She was glad that she was able to understand the _one_ thing he said.

' _Hello,'_ Akemi greeted more formally, and in Japanese. _'Any of you know English? Jasmine doesn't know Japanese.'_

All five of them shook their heads.

' _Damnit,'_ Akemi cursed running a hand through her hair again.

'Akemi, what's wrong?' Jasmine asked turning to her friend.

Instead of answering, Akemi began to fiddling with the clasp of her necklace. Pulling it from around her neck, she secured it around Jasmine's, the vivid green emerald winking in the light.

At the same time, the pair failed to notice the way Inuyasha frowned and sniffed the air as if he were trying to identify something. And with the way he was looking at Akemi, he was clearly confused. He knew her scent, but he could not recall where from. He's either met someone with the exact same scent, or he knew her. Seeing as how you cannot have two scents the exact same, Inuyasha decided that he knew Akemi from somewhere. He just couldn't remember where.

'What are you doing?' Jasmine asked panicked. 'You can't give me this!'

'It'll serve as a translator for the time being until you're able to fluently speak Japanese, or another method in order to bypass the language barrier,' Akemi explained.

Jasmine looked at her, brown-green eyes glistening with happy tears. 'You mean, I can hear and speak Japanese now?'

Akemi nodded.

' _Is everything alright?'_ the whore's doppelgänger asked, making Jasmine squeal in delight at having understood her.

' _Everything's fine,'_ Jasmine replied, squealing again when the Japanese words flew from her mouth.

' _You are a gorgeous woman,'_ the black haired male said and grabbed one of Jasmine's hands between his. _'Would you bear my child?'_

' _Eh?'_ Jasmine said in surprise.

The brunette punched the back of his head and pulled him away from Jasmine.

' _Sorry about that,'_ she said with a smile. _'Miroku's like that with every girl.'_

' _Would you bear my child?'_ he said to Akemi with her hand between his.

Akemi smacked him across the face, leaving behind a bright red handprint. _'Not even in your worst nightmare, pervert!'_

' _That's what you get, Miroku,'_ Inuyasha said laughing.

' _I'm Higurashi Kagome,'_ the cute doppelgänger introduced shaking Jasmine's and then Akemi's hand.

' _Jasmine Sarish Samaira,'_ Jasmine replied smiling.

' _Taiyō Akemi,'_ Akemi responded.

' _Higurashi Rin,'_ the spiky black haired girl said shaking their hands with a large smile.

' _Higurashi Sango,'_ the brunette introduced shaking their hands.

' _I'm Raito Miroku,'_ Miroku said rubbing his red cheek. _'You've got quite a slap there, Taiyō-san.'_

' _You can call me Akemi,'_ Akemi said grimacing at the way he addressed her. _'And I'm a yōkai. I'm bound to pack a punch in physical strikes.'_

Inuyasha blinked his eyes. _'I knew it.'_

' _What did you know, Inuyasha?'_ Miroku asked him.

' _You're a dog yōkai, a full-fledged one like Sesshōmaru,'_ he sneered his brother's name.

Miroku and the others looked surprised.

' _They're rare nowadays,'_ Miroku stated. _'You obviously originate from Japan. So where have you been hiding?'_

' _Miroku!'_ Sango scolded. _'Don't be so rude!'_

Akemi looked angry. _'I don't hide,'_ she said angrily. _'And for your information, I'm half Japanese. My mother's from England.'_

' _My apologies,'_ Miroku said sincerely.

' _What's a DILF?'_ Inuyasha blurted out.

Akemi choked on air while Jasmine's face turned fifty shades of red.

' _Where did you hear that, Inuyasha?'_ Kagome asked him, looking confused.

' _I heard Jasmine say it when we were followed my oyaji to the headmaster's office,'_ he answered.

They all turned to Jasmine, even Akemi.

' _Erm…'_ she said rubbing the back of her head, her blush getting darker than it already was.

The five of them leaned closer, waiting expectantly.

 _'I-it means…'_ Jasmine looked at Akemi for help.

Akemi smiled. _'It means Dad I'd Like to Fuck,'_ she said making Jasmine smile at her gratefully.

' _What?!'_ the five of them yelled in unison, making Akemi laugh and Jasmine blush.

* * *

Tōga-ō peered out of the window to the courtyard where the students mingled. His thick eyebrows were drawn together in a frown, his hands clasped behind his back, and his eyes erratically searching the sea of people.

The object of his maddening thoughts appeared with the blonde, Taiyō Akemi.

Akemi's sudden appearance in Japan gave Tōga-ō pause for concern, but he'll confront her later.

Right now, his thoughts were more befuddled with her friend, Jasmine Sarish Samaira.

The dark brunette was as mysterious as the universe itself. To him, her beauty was unparalleled. Her brown eyes were speckled with green. They held an inner fire that he was unable to fathom. Her power was unstable and incontrollable, something he planned on rectifying as soon as possible. She was something he had yet to encounter, and the puzzlement of what she was worried him most of all. Her scent was tantalising, something he hadn't experienced since Izayoi. He hadn't felt this way towards anyone other than Inukimi and Izayoi. Was this a sign? But it was forbidden. He was basically a teacher at the school, as he does odd surprise lessons for the students.

And then there was her dark blue fluffy trousers. It had dark blue crescent moons all over it. Some moons were yellow with either a light blue outline or a white outline. It did have white clouds, yellow stars with a light blue outline, but the crescent moons were more blaring. It was elastic and drawstring, fitting snuggling against her body and allowing for it to be tightened if needed.

Could this really be called a sign? Or were her species naturally inclined to the moon as well?

Tōga-ō rubbed his temples and watched as the girls were joined by Inuyasha and his group.

He turned his back on the scene just as the door was rapped on twice before the person entered. Tōga-ō's golden eyes watched as Sesshōmaru dominated the space effortlessly, just as he was able to do. They were both so alike it was frightening, but Sesshōmaru took his attitude after his apathetic mother. Something that Tōga-ō wasn't keen on due to his eldest son's discrimination against all other creatures that weren't able to handle his strength, power and dominance. Nowadays, it was rare to find someone that would be able to match both his son and him. It was extremely annoying having to put up with constant cries of protection from the weak, but Tōga-ō would never turn them down – if they deserved it – whereas Sesshōmaru wouldn't hesitate to end them himself.

They were so alike, yet so different.

' _What are you going to do about Taiyō Akemi?'_

' _You're acting as if she's a mere stranger,'_ Tōga-ō pointed out.

' _She is, and pathetically weak.'_

Tōga-ō frowned. _'If memory serves me well, son, Akemi was capable of not only matching you, but besting you.'_

' _We were children.'_

' _Not much has changed.'_

Sesshōmaru's eyes narrowed.

' _You may have grown much stronger since your childhood, but so has Akemi. You haven't forgotten the House she originates from, have you?'_

' _I am well aware of her heritage. But what are you going to do about her? She abandoned her duties here seven hundred years ago. She deserves to be punished for abandoning her duty.'_

Tōga-ō wanted to laugh but settled for smirking. _'And what duty did a_ child _have? Her duty is to her family, and they asked for their help. She went back in order to aid her people, as was her duty.'_

'Humph _. Are you not in the least interested in what happened?'_

' _Very,'_ Tōga-ō admitted. _'But I'll let you address that to her. I have more_ important _matters that demands my attention.'_

' _Very well. You are aware that I'll be as forceful as necessary in order to find out?'_

' _Why are you telling me this?'_ Tōga-ō asked.

' _To gorge how far you would have gone in order to get the answers you require.'_

' _Do not be too forceful, Sesshōmaru. Something bad may have happened that'll only upset and invoke memories she might have wanted to keep buried.'_

' _I will do what is necessary to find out what happened to the House of the Sun.'_

' _Sesshōmaru,'_ Tōga-ō said, narrowing his eyes, _'_ do not _force it out of her. Be gentle but firm. I will not be happy if I find out you were too rough.'_

Sesshōmaru merely narrowed his eyes and left the room.

Tōga-ō sighed and ran a hand through his front bangs.

 _Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret that decision?_ He thought to himself. _I can't deal with both Akemi and Jasmine. Jasmine's situation needs my attention more. There's something about her that I need to figure out. If she's from an undiscovered species, I'm going to have to find out everything about them in order to include them amongst society so that they're not spurned._

 _I'm getting the feeling it'll be harder than I think to finding out._

Tōga-ō settled into the chair and rummaged through the student file on Jasmine.

Right away, he knew he was in for a long day and night. With little information to go on, he was going to have to dig around before he could ask the girl herself.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Hanyō – half-demon half-human

Oyaji - father

* * *

 **Notes**

If you haven't already guessed, I've made up Miroku's last name.


	8. Chapter 8

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. You've reached chapter eight in the story. LADY SILVERFOX charita rai and I take all credit for the storyline and our OCs. We do not lay any claim to the Inuyasha cast in any form whatsoever. We're among the many who would _love_ to own particular characters. Well, onto the story. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

' _English'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Eight**

The school day had ended without a hitch, despite the venomous glares Akemi, Jasmine and Kagome received from Kagura and Kikyō. Kagome ignored them as if it was an everyday occurrence. Akemi merely glared back at them, a glint of evil in her eyes that quickly made them look away. Jasmine avoided looking at them, their unnerving glares setting her on edge. And the two knew that they were getting to her, their smirks evidently sadistic. A plan had begun to formulate to their minds and looking at each other managed to convey the plan without words.

Now with nothing in the way, Kagura and Kikyō could do whatever they wanted. And after picking out the weakest link in the school, the pair stood with an audible scraping of chairs and begun heading to where Jasmine sat isolated near the windows. But before they could get a step closer to her, Akemi suddenly appeared at her side and cast the pair a deathly glare that had them changing directions with a sneer at the blonde.

Outside the classroom, Kagura punched the wall.

'We'll never get anywhere close to the little bitch with the bimbo hanging around,' she hissed.

'Calm down,' Kikyō ordered crossing her arms under her breasts, pushing them up in the process.

'Oh come on! Let's show that bitch who's boss around here!'

'We need to think this through before getting revenge.'

'But you were all for going after her just a second ago!'

Kikyō glared at her friend. 'That blonde's a yōkai, in case you happened to have forgotten that. She's not going to be easy to get around.'

Kagura rolled her eyes. 'She's weak. I can take her easily.'

Kikyō's eyes narrowed even more. 'I knew your head was shoved up your arse, but I didn't think it'll be that far up.' Kagura growled. 'Stop pretending to be a dog yōkai,' she snapped. 'That girl's out of your league. It's no wonder that Sesshōmaru's interested in her.'

Kagura fisted a hand in her blouse. 'Don't you ever fucking say that again!'

The dark miko brushed her hand off her. 'Touch me again and I'll make Naraku's punishments feel like a blissful heaven.'

Kagura merely glared at her threat.

Kikyō, satisfied that she had Kagura under wraps, sauntered down the hallway, swaying her hips seductively to all the men that she passed, eliciting lustful looks and catcalls. She smirked to herself, tossing her black hair over her shoulder, too overconfident in her looks. She was grateful that she always had a spare change of clothes in her locker otherwise she'd be still covered in mud and poo from that freak's unexpected attack.

Kagura followed closely behind, a sneer on her features as her mind was filled with that blonde bimbo.

 _How dare she go_ near _my man,_ Kagura seethed. _She'll regret it. I'll make her pay for everything!_

They burst out of the school and quickly made their way off school grounds. When Kikyō led the way through the weaving dark alleyways, it became clear to Kagura where they were headed. Every student spent some time after school off grounds, but Kikyō and Kagura spent as much time as they could off campus. Kagura would rather spend as much time with Sesshōmaru. Unfortunately for Kagura, it was required that she and Kikyō visited Naraku as much as possible.

Naraku was Kikyō's current lover and Kagura's adoptive father.

And as much as Kagura hated to admit it, Naraku had been the one to have saved her from her life of abuse. If she didn't want to go back there, she _had_ to obey Naraku's every order. Frequently visiting him in order to personally deliver weekly reports was one of those orders. And though she only wished to spy on Sesshōmaru for her own pleasures, she often wondered what history Naraku had with him. It was nothing good, if the look in his eyes every time she mentioned his name was anything to go on by.

It was a thirty-minute walk from the school to Naraku's.

Naraku lived luxuriously in a towering hundred floored building, on the very top floor. He hit it large with top notch technology and security. If that wasn't enough, he got paid to be a hacker for both the police and anyone else that could afford his price. To top it off, he was a government official and high up on the ladder. Unfortunate for him, he was nowhere near the Taishō family who stood right at the top being Japan's ruling family. This fact always vexed him.

That was his public face. His true nature involved the seven underground floors that dealt with illicit activities, drugs, slavery, prostitution and death. His most prized drug was the Shikon no Tama that enabled him to control anyone he wished. It was the rarest drug, and extremely potent.

If only Kagura had that drug. She would not only gain the man of her dreams, but she'll be able to enslave him. He'll do her bidding! The thought alone was pleasuring enough. Having a man of his power and stature as your own personal slave. Kagura could feel herself drooling at the idea. An idea that she intended to make come true. No one else was allowed to have him. He was hers!

Kikyō sashayed through the automatic doors, through the metal detectors and over to the elevator with her head held high like a queen. With the greeting flowing freely from everyone's mouth, it was no wonder she held herself so high. Kagura wanted to grimace at her arrogant confidence, but being the lover of a powerful man was getting to her head. She supposed she'd do the same thing if Kagura was in her position. Kagura _should_ feel special and prized being his adopted daughter, but she just felt like a tool.

Once in the elevator, they travelled in silence until they reached the top floor. Once the doors open, they stepped out onto a black plush carpet that muffled their high heels as they made their way over to where Naraku sat behind his desk. The blinds were closed, casting the room in darkness. The dim light of the live fire in the fireplace opposite the desk set the dark mood of the room and added warmth to a harshly cold atmosphere.

Kagura watched as Kikyō walked around the desk and sat in her lover's lap and French kissed him in greeting while rubbing her breasts against his black clad form. Kagura wanted to sneer at how open and accepting she was of almost having sex in front of others. What was more disgusting was that Kanna, another adopted child of Naraku's, was also in the room. And she was a child! It didn't matter that she was a yōkai, she was still a child. She shouldn't have to see this.

Kagura cleared her throat.

Naraku pulled his mouth away from Kikyō's to glare at her.

Kikyō licked her lips, her brown eyes glazed over in lust.

'Well?' he asked in his usual deep, uncaringly cold, tone.

'We're still no closer to figuring out the weaknesses of the brothers,' Kagura reported.

Naraku's red eyes narrowed dangerously. 'It's almost been six months and you've still found nothing?!'

'That's not true,' Kikyō said stroking her lover's jaw. 'We had two new students today. A dark brunette named Jasmine Sarish Samaira, an unknown creature from who knows where. Not that's of any importance. But the second girl may just be the undoing of the Taishō family. Her name's Taiyō Akemi, and she's a dog yōkai. It seems Sesshōmaru already knows her, considering how friendly he acted with her in class.'

'Oh?' Naraku said interested and gauged Kagura's pissed off reaction at the reminder. 'How close would you say they were?'

'I wouldn't say they're that close…' Kagura said clenching her fists and looking away.

Kikyō laughed. 'He hugged her, licked her neck and even licked her wounds. It almost seemed as if they were practically mated already.'

Naraku's smirk turned cruel, or crueller. 'That'll work to our advantage.'

'How?' Kagura demanded.

Naraku's smirk only widened further. 'As for this other new girl, perhaps we could use her unknown species to our advantage as well. She might be what we need to lure out the King of Japan. Either way, we're going to need both for the plan to work.'

'And how do you suppose we do that?'

It was Kikyō's turn to smile cruelly. 'Just give us the signal when you want this to happen,' she said to Naraku, dismissing Kagura's presence.

'I'm going to need some time to prepare. For now, Kagura, Kanna, make yourselves useful and become scarce.' Naraku ripped Kikyō's blouse open and cupped a breast.

Kagura quickly scampered before she saw anything she'd regret later on. Kanna was hot on her heels, but it was obvious the child hadn't rushed like Kagura had. The elevator cut the scene off and the pair descended.

Leaning gratefully against the wall, Kagura glanced down at the albino child at her side. She was hugging that white framed mirror to her body as if it were a lifeline. Kagura understood nothing of Kanna's past, except that she was Naraku's first adopted child, making her more important in other's eyes. Being the second child bit her painfully in the ass, but Kanna had never ordered Kagura to do anything unless it was under Naraku's orders. The girl was always quiet unless she was spoken to. She always looked bleak and empty, as if Kagura's past was nothing compared to her own. But then again, Kanna never spoke about her past. Kagura had once thought she was mute until she had heard her speak to Naraku. And Kagura had never heard someone's voice sound so empty before.

To think that she was only a child.

* * *

'Are you serious?' Kagome exclaimed overjoyed and clapped her hands together once.

' _What did she say?'_ Jasmine asked, leaning over to Akemi who now had her necklace back around her throat.

Akemi repeated it.

'I always wondered why there were five beds,' Sango said with a smile. 'Thank goodness I already like you girls.'

Akemi smiled back after repeating what Sango said to Jasmine.

Rin looked at Jasmine sympathetically. She then looked at Akemi. 'Do you think that Jasmine would let me teach her Japanese?'

Jasmine perked up at hearing her name same in the Japanese accent. She turned to Akemi to translate.

Akemi smiled at Rin, who looked at her hopefully, before turning to Jasmine. _'Rin wants to know if you'd like her to teach you Japanese.'_

Jasmine's smile was like the sun itself, and before anyone knew it, she was hugging Rin.

'Is that a yes?' Rin asked Akemi for clarification.

Akemi nodded. 'You've just made her day.'

Rin smiled. 'Maybe she can teach me English.'

'Maybe,' Akemi said to her. _'Rin would like you to teach her English.'_

' _I'd love to,'_ Jasmine said happily jumping on her bed near the window. _'It's nice to speak to at least_ one _person who can understand me, but it gets a little lonely. And besides, I'm the only one out of the loop. It'll be nice to join in everyone's conversations.'_

' _I know what you mean. Rin's smart. She'll be having you speak Japanese in no time.'_

' _I sure hope so.'_

'What do you do for fun around here?' Akemi asked the three Japanese girls.

'Well, there's no rules about staying on campus grounds after school, but there is a ten o'clock curfew,' Kagome said.

Akemi translated for Jasmine.

Jasmine bounced off her bed, beaming brightly. _'You mean we're not actually held prisoner?'_

Akemi laughed and translated in Japanese, causing the three girls to laugh as well.

'We go shopping, we go to the cinema, we pretty much do normal things that girls our age do when attending a normal school,' Sango said.

'But Sango-nee's a taijiya,' Rin explained.

'Training to be,' Sango corrected.

' _That's so cool!'_ Jasmine said with stars in her eyes, since Akemi had been translating the whole time. _'What about you Kagome, Rin? Are you slayers too?'_

Akemi translated.

'I'm not,' Rin answered.

'I'm not a taijiya, but Inu no Taishō-sama's having me tested because he sensed my reiryoku. Or something like that,' Kagome responded.

Akemi translated both answers to Jasmine.

' _Bummer. Sango's going to be busy hunting and slayer and Kagome's busy with tests. Looks like Akemi, Rin and I are spending quality time together.'_

Akemi was smiling as she translated. Sango nodded in agreement. Kagome looked disappointed. Rin looked ecstatic.

'Wait, we'll all spend _some_ time together, won't we? As the five of us?' Kagome asked looking hopeful.

' _Definitely!'_ Jasmine agreed after looking to Akemi for translation.

' _I think you should take those lessons now Jasmine.'_ She ran a hand through her long blonde hair. _'Switching between languages is exhausting.'_

' _Then tell Rin to crack open the books and let's start!'_ she said pumping her fist enthusiastically.

Rin smiled as Akemi translated. 'Okay!' she said, just as enthusiastic as Jasmine and ran to grab her English and Japanese books.

'We'll help!' Sango and Kagome announced.

The five of them got together in the middle of the room and sat on the carpet in a circle with the books in the middle. They began with the basics. The four girls taught Jasmine Japanese while Jasmine and Akemi taught the three English. As they sat, learned, chatted, snacked and learned some more, time flew by. And even though they were well into the night, the five of them continued to learn until they eventually passed out on each other.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Miko – priestess

Nee – sister

Taijiya – slayer

Inu no Taishō – dog general

Reiryoku – spiritual energy


	9. Chapter 9

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. Thank you to all you readers that have read the story so far. Thank you to all who have favorited, followed and reviewed. A special thanks to LADY SILVERFOX charita rai for leaving your comments on each chapter. I know you know that LADY SILVERFOX charita rai is a cohort of this story with me, but she likes to provide ideas to add to the story and leaves me with editing the chapters. So yes, the chapters are as much a surprise to her as they are to everybody else.

I'm sure you've noticed how the speech setup had been changed in the last chapter, and that was because it was mainly Japanese orientated. I hope this helps clear up some confusion.

Well, on with the story. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

' _English'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Nine**

A loud blaring sound jostled Akemi out of sleep. Jasmine groaned and flipped onto her other side, ignoring the sound. Kagome and Rin cuddled against each other. Sango woke with a groan, brown eyes blinking up at the yōkai who slammed a hand on the alarm clock in frustration. Running a hand through her dishevelled blonde hair, Akemi eyed the blaring numbers that read 7:06.

'Why couldn't it have been Friday yesterday?' she pondered to herself.

Sango smiled and got to her feet. 'At least you can enjoy a weekend,' she commented, pulling the bobble out of her hair and running the brush through it as she sat at the vanity mirror. 'I've got to help Miroku with any cases that come through.'

'I forgot you're a taijiya,' Akemi said running her own brush through her hair. 'Plus you've been punished to work with that lecherous monk.' She looked at Sango quizzically. 'How is he even a monk?'

'He was born into it,' she answered tying her hair into a high ponytail. 'His father was a monk, and so was his grandfather. It's something that runs in the family. Well, that's what he told me, and I've got no reason not to take his word for it.'

The sadness on Sango's face was enough for Akemi to understand the unsaid words.

'Monks, priestesses, taijiya, even other yōkai, death is the result when fighting for peace. It's harsh, both the life and me saying it, but it's the end result that is expected for those in such professions. Not many respect them, but they should. They sacrifice themselves for the greater good. And I'm sure Miroku's father was an amazing man,' Akemi said smiling.

Sango smiled and nodded her head in agreement. 'I have no doubt of that.' She sighed. 'I just can't explain why he's such a playboy. He goes after every good looking woman.'

'Has he tried it on you?'

Sango shook her head. 'I'm not pretty enough.'

Akemi smirked. 'Are you kidding me? You're absolutely beautiful.'

Sango smiled at her, not knowing why she was looking at her with a knowing look. 'Thanks, Akemi. But I'm obviously not a looker.'

'You really like him, don't you?'

'W-what?' Sango questioned flushing scarlet, jumping in her seat, startled at her sudden question.

'Well?' Akemi persisted.

'I d-don't know what you're talking about,' she stammered out not looking her in the eyes.

'You can't fool me, Sango. You not only like him, but you've fallen deep.'

Sango's face darkened in colour. 'J-just don't tell anyone.'

Akemi stood behind her and hugged the girl around the neck, peering at her in the mirror. 'Your secret's safe with me. Just know that if you need to talk to someone, anyone, I'm here for you.'

'Thank you, Akemi.'

'It's what friends are for,' Akemi said stepping away and grabbing her towel. 'You might want to tell these three at some point,' she said poking Jasmine with her foot. 'They're your friends too, you know. I'm sure they'd do anything for you.'

Sango smiled and nodded. 'I will, but not yet.'

'I'm grabbing a quick shower. You might want to wake them up. With only forty-five minutes to get ready, I'm sure they want as much time as possible to prepare.'

Sango groaned. 'Kagome and Rin take forever to get ready,' she readily agreed.

Akemi shrugged. 'It's what makeup, dressing to impress, and wanting to smell fabulous does to you. Makes you more slut-like in my opinion.'

Sango chuckled before going over to wake the girls.

Akemi went into the bathroom and discovered five showers lining the left wall, each with their own drain. On the right-hand side was a large onsen that could fit ten people. Rather than going for the modern look, they had gone with a natural look. The onsen was ringed with large immovable stones set into the nonslip tiled floor. There were five stools stacked against the wall beside the door on the left side, meaning that the shower area doubled as a rinse area before getting into the onsen. The back wall had vent-like windows that were set high up the wall to reduce the risk of peeping toms.

Akemi showered quickly, using shampoo, conditioner and body wash to get rid of any lingered sweat and smell. She squeezed out all the water from her hair and then wrapped her body in the towel. Grabbing her dirty clothes, she entered the bedroom to discover the other girls now awake with only thirty-two minutes left until school.

Kagome and Rin rushed into the bathroom, not even bothering to close the door behind them.

Heck, they were all girls, who cared?

' _You look positively radiant,'_ Jasmine commented, turning to her English language for more complex sentences. It was strange she could now perfectly understand Japanese but had not yet perfected speaking it. Must be a djinn's ability. _'Any particular reason?'_

' _Five showers and a massive hot spring for a bathtub? Who can argue with that?'_ Akemi replied beaming.

' _How did we get a hot spring on the top floor?'_ she asked perplexed.

The yōkai shrugged her shoulders and picked out a set of clothes from the walk-in wardrobe that the girls had to share. They had separated it into five sections so that they didn't get it confused. She quickly dressed, pulling a pair of black combat jeans and a red spaghetti strapped top that exposed her stomach. Once dressed, she towel dried her hair and then ran her brush through it. The ends curled into loose ringlets while the rest contained a strong weave to it that showed she had naturally wavy hair. Standing in front of the large vanity mirror, that the five girls could use without having to push the others out of the way, Akemi brushed the top half of her hair back and braided it, tying the end off with her own hair rather than a bobble.

Once finished, Akemi smiled at the twins who were now dressed in tank tops and skirts.

Kagome was dressed in a pink top and a frilly purple skirt. Rin wore the opposite, purple top and pink frilly skirt. They kept their own hairstyles, Kagome's was left down while Rin had a portion of hers pulled into a side ponytail.

Jasmine left the bathroom fully dressed, drying her hair on a small towel. She was dressed in a pair of form fitting faded blue jeans and an oversized black top, that read 'Nothing To See Here', that could double as a nightie. She brushed all of her hair over to the right side, letting all of it fall in front of her left side. She gave it a bit of a ruffle before declaring herself ready.

Sango was the last to finish after finishing applying her eyeshadow. Getting to her feet revealed that she was dressed in a pink crop top and dark blue jeans. She looked at the time and smiled.

'With fifteen minutes to spare, I have to say that's a record for us,' she said.

'Well, let's not dillydally. I'd rather have this day over and done with,' Akemi said.

'She want to sleep,' Jasmine said, grinning at herself for getting better with the language, but still needing a lot of work.

Kagome clapped her hands happily. 'You're getting better, Jasmine!'

Rin nodded in agreement. 'You're a really fast learner. Soon you'll be able to speak perfect Japanese.'

Jasmine beamed in pride.

' _Don't let it get to your head,'_ Akemi whispered to her friend. _'I understand it's part of your species nature, but it could prove to be fatal. So just be careful.'_

Jasmine nodded. _'It won't.'_

'Sango-nee, will you be heading straight to Inu Ind. after school?' Rin asked her eldest sister as the five of them left their room, locking the door behind them.

Sango nodded. 'I'll be working with Miroku.'

Rin looked confused.

'It's my punishment, as well as his, for not stopping the fight,' the taijiya explained.

'Ah! I remember now! Kagome-nee's being taken to Inu Ind. to be tested. Inuyasha-sama's escorting her,' Rin said smiling.

Sango looked at Kagome. 'That's what Inu no Taishō-sama gave you as punishment?'

Kagome nodded. 'He said he could sense reiryoku in me and that I'm to be tested appropriately. Inuyasha's my escort.'

She didn't sound happy about who was to be escorting her.

'What's matter?' Jasmine asked Kagome, gently touching her friend on the shoulder to show that she was there for her.

Kagome smiled at her. 'Inuyasha's such a child! How he managed to be head of security at Inu Ind. is a miracle! And his attitude! Urgh, he's the most irresponsible, immature, unbearable idiot! Why do I have to be escorted around by a ruffian like him?'

Akemi laughed. 'Someone's in love.'

Kagome blushed. 'I am not!' she denied strongly.

'Deny too strongly,' Jasmine commented making Kagome's blush darken. 'What for breakfast?'

'We slept through it,' Sango answered.

' _Damnit,'_ Jasmine cursed. 'What we do for food?'

'We can go to the cafeteria at break and grab something. I'm sure the dinner ladies will let us.'

'They've done it before,' Kagome said.

'We usually sleep through breakfast. Because of that they've allowed students to grab a late breakfast at break time,' Rin said, much to Jasmine's gratefulness.

'You've just introduced her to heaven, Rin,' Akemi said, smiling at the look on Jasmine's face.

'Is she…imagining what food she's going to eat?' Sango asked the yōkai.

Akemi chuckled. 'Yeah. Jasmine, you're drooling.'

'No I'm not!' she said, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She wiped her chin and actually found it dry. 'Hey!' she said in protest, as Akemi was now laughing, knowing that the yōkai had tricked her.

'Girls, we better hurry or we going to be late,' Sango said after checking her watch.

'Can't we skip it?' Akemi asked, having the sudden need to be surrounded by her pack.

Rin looked over at Akemi. 'Is everything alright, Akemi-chan?'

Akemi tried smiling reassuringly at her. 'I'm fine.'

'Are you missing someone?' Rin asked, bypassing the yōkai's false words.

Akemi blinked in surprise at her. 'You're quite sensitive, aren't you? I'm just missing my pack is all.'

'Where did pack go?' Jasmine asked.

'They were here?' Kagome asked, panicked and delighted.

Akemi chuckled. 'They wouldn't harm you, Kagome. And yes, they're here.'

'I'm going to have to ask you to elaborate later, right now, run! We're going to be late!' Sango said grabbing Kagome's hand and running towards the school.

Kagome had grabbed Rin's hand, who grabbed Akemi who grabbed Jasmine. With Sango leading and dragging them, the five burst through the doors and raced through the school hallways.

* * *

Tōga-ō stood in front of the classroom, next to the teacher that was almost pissing himself, waiting for five females to make an appearance before he could make the announcement. He had long since folded his arms, tapping a finger against his arm as the seconds passed into minutes. He knew that the Higurashi sisters often woke up late and got to class a little after the bell, but he had not expected Akemi to be late considering her upbringing. Perhaps placing her, and Jasmine, in the same room as the Higurashi sisters was a bad idea. Their tardiness was already rubbing off on them. If he didn't see an improvement in that, he'll have no choice but to put the two with Kagura and Kikyō. Their room was the only one that had spare beds. He didn't want to do that considering how they don't get along.

Tōga-ō could see that his sons were put off with him being there. Sesshōmaru _looked_ uncaring, but he could see the slight downshift of his eyebrows and the narrowing of his eyes. He knew that Sesshōmaru was not happy with him being there. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was more panicked. It was clear with the way he was acting that he thought he was there to keep an eye on him. As if he, the King of Japan, had time to sit around a classroom keeping an eye on a bunch of rambunctious teens. Given that some were adults, Tōga-ō did not have the time to keep them out of trouble. He was only filling in the headmaster's spot until he came back, but he was still dealing with his own duties. Adding another duty, on top of everything else he had to deal with, would only overpressure him.

The door slid open with a _slap_ and the five girls entered the room just before the second bell rang.

Tōga-ō turned to them.

'You're just on time,' he said startling all but Akemi. 'Take your seats,' he said before any of them could apologise.

He waited until the five shuffled into their seats, Kagome next to Inuyasha with Kikyō on his other side, Sango behind Miroku, Rin behind Sango, Jasmine behind Inuyasha who was four seats away from the back, and Akemi behind Jasmine but in front of Sesshōmaru, who sat beside Kagura. Kikyō's flirting face shifted into a sneer as Kagome took her seat. Kagome, doing the right thing, ignored her completely, which angered her further. Kagura, who was flashing Sesshōmaru her breasts in her low cut top, sized Jasmine with disgust. Jasmine pretended to not see her. And when Akemi sat in front of his eldest son, Kagura's reaction was instantaneous. She lunged out of her seat, reaching to grab her long hair.

Tōga-ō was surprised to suddenly see Akemi move so fast and slam Kagura's face into her desk and then threw her to the back of the room. She then retook her seat and crossed her arms, looking straight out the window with a thunderous look on her face.

'You bitch!' Kagura seethed, getting to her feet.

'Kagura, sit down!' Tōga-ō ordered.

'Did you see what she did?!' she screeched, blood dripping from her nose.

'You instigated it,' he said, his voice low and dangerous.

She shuddered under his intense glare.

'I'm putting you in isolation for a week,' he announced.

'What?!' she snapped. ' _She's_ the dangerous one!'

'No, _you_ are. You're incapable of controlling yourself, therefore making you more dangerous. Akemi could have done a whole lot more to you, but didn't. She had many opportunities to kill you but hasn't.' _Although that would save a whole lot of trouble for me_ , he thought while seeing the murderous intentions in Kagura's red eyes.

'It's not fair that you're not punishing that bitch for breaking Kagura's nose!' Kikyō spoke up, glaring at Akemi.

 _Better yet, add Kikyō to that list too_ , Tōga-ō thought heavily. 'Akemi.'

Hearing Tōga-ō calling to her, Akemi looked at him, green eyes lacking any emotion whatsoever.

'For as long as you attend this school, you'll be participating in morning exercises to reduce your energy levels. If you keep reacting with such force, you're going to end up killing someone, and I _will_ have to isolate you.' _I need to avoid that as much as possible._ 'Every morning and evening or night, you'll be sparring with Sesshōmaru.'

Akemi's eyes narrowed as her anger surfaced.

'That's an order,' Tōga-ō interrupted just as she opened her mouth to argue.

'I know he used to train every morning, but I doubt that he still does that after seven hundred years,' Akemi said.

 _Does she have any idea how she just released a piece of Sesshōmaru's and her past history?_ Tōga-ō thought, eyeing Kagura's and Kikyō's reactions carefully.

They were both surprised, but Kagura was shell-shocked. It appears that she had no idea that Akemi had any kind of history with Sesshōmaru before yesterday.

Tōga-ō found himself looking at Jasmine, who was too busy looking out the window. He had seen how she had exchanged a look with Akemi when she revealed that information, but she didn't look overly bothered by it. She didn't even look surprised. Did she know that the pair shared a past? Just how much did Akemi tell her?

'Now then, as for the reason why I'm here,' he said after Kagura had finally took her seat. 'In a few months' time I'll be hosting a ball in celebration of the school's success rate.' The class began to get excited, but when Tōga-ō cleared his throat, everyone quietened instantly. ' _I'm_ only telling this class because you all have the tendency to believe you're above your teachers. Well, I'm warning you in advance, any misplaced behaviour will land you confined to your dorms for the duration of the ball. Is that understood?'

'Yes sir!' most of the class chorused as one.

Tōga-ō looked to Jasmine to see her reaction to his news. He couldn't really identify the expression on her face. Rather than standing there looking like a fool for staring at her, he nodded once at the teacher, looked at her one last time and left the room. Instantly, he heard the class erupted into noise. He cringed at the sound. Shaking his head in disappointment, he had the feeling that he'll be confining a few to their rooms for the ball. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but those who misbehave could not be trusted around a roomful of outside clients who have come to see the school's progress.

He had no choice but to be there. What was he going to do about a dance partner? Regardless of whether or not he chose one, the women would seek him out to dance with him, if only to try to gain his favour into bedding him or coupling with him. He didn't want to go, but it was not an option. He was going to have to avoid the female crowd as much as possible.

At least there was one thing he got out of announcing it. Both Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha were not happy. They'd be as uncomfortable as he would be.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Taijiya – slayer

Onsen – hot spring

Nee - sister

Sama – lord/lady depending on the gender


	10. Chapter 10

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. A big thank you to everyone who showed an interest in this story, and another big thank to you to LADY SILVERFOX charita rai. You really are the inspiration behind this story. Thank you for all your ideas. I take half the credit for this story, the other half goes to LADY SILVERFOX charita rai. Now on with the chapter. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

' _English'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Ten**

When the bell signified the half hour break, Akemi and Jasmine were more than happy to pack away their things and rush out of the classroom. Sango, Kagome and Rin had to hurry to catch up with their friends before they lost them in the crowd. The moment they did they saw that Jasmine's gaze was more of a longing for the outside, while Akemi's was thunderous. It was clear that she was beyond pissed off. The sisters looked at each other, unable to help but think why Jasmine was more nature orientated and why Akemi was so frustrated with spending time with Sesshōmaru. It was almost as if she hated him.

Once outside, Jasmine took a deep breath of the fresh air and exhaled happily. Akemi merely glowered and walked away from the four of them, forcing them to rush after her.

'Akemi,' Jasmine called out to her, placing a gentle hand on her arm.

Akemi flinched at the contact but did not pull away.

' _Talk to me,'_ Jasmine said in English, knowing that the Higurashi sisters were still incapable of grasping the English language, and therefore used it to her advantage.

' _Not here,'_ she said leading them over to the trees.

They entered the treeline and walked further in, the thick trees hid them from view, just as Akemi had wanted. It was only until Akemi was incapable of seeing the academic building that she stopped. She just happened to stop in a small clearing shaded by trees that had grown outwards like a green and brown sky. Ignoring this, Akemi sat on the ground and crossed her legs. Jasmine, however, appeared to be basking in the nature around her while also being attentive of her yōkai friend's temperament. The sisters were more concerned with their friend's sudden anger. It was more curiosity than anything, but they were still concerned.

One by one the girls joined Akemi on the ground. Sango and Jasmine sat crossed legged just like Akemi since they wore trousers. Kagome and Rin had tucked their legs to the side due to wearing skirts.

'What's wrong, Akemi?' Sango asked.

'Do you not like Sesshōmaru-sama?' Rin asked innocently.

Akemi sighed and ran a hand through her blonde hair. 'It's not that I don't like him. It's…complicated.'

'Obvious you share past with Lord Fluffy,' Jasmine said, causing the sisters to gasp at the nickname.

'I grew up with Sesshōmaru,' Akemi announced, startling all four girls.

'But Sesshōmaru's over seven hundred years old!' Sango pointed out.

'I know,' Akemi said looking dead serious.

'You're also over seven hundred years old?' Kagome stated.

Akemi nodded, causing the three sisters to stare at her with gaping mouths while Jasmine sat there looking proud at already knowing that piece of information.

'She's not just seven hundred years old,' Jasmine said in perfect Japanese. 'She's a seven-hundred-year-old virgin.'

'Jasmine!' Akemi said smacking her arm lightly.

'Ow!' Jasmine complained, rubbing her arm. 'What was that for? It's the truth!'

Akemi glared. 'Maybe so, but you didn't need to blurt it.'

'Why did you not want to tell us?' Sango asked.

Akemi blushed and looked away.

'It's nothing to be ashamed of,' Kagome said. 'I'm sure you don't want to be considered a whore like _Kagura_ and _Kikyō_.'

'But to still be a virgin at your age,' Rin said brown eyes shining. 'You really are amazing, Akemi.'

'Thank you,' Akemi said smiling at her friends' compliments.

'So what happened between you and Sesshōmaru-sama?' Sango queried, bringing them back to the previous topic.

All four of them looked at her, four different pairs of brown eyes, one with speckles of green, each lightened with intense curiosity.

While Akemi was used to being the centre of attention, due to her upbringing, she was embarrassed at having to reveal a past she had hoped to steer clear from. Even remembering her time with the Taishō family unearthed the past she wanted to keep buried. She knew that one day she was going to have to face it, she just had not anticipated revealing it to outsiders. But they weren't outsiders to her, not anymore. Despite having only spent two days with them, Akemi considered them family, pack. They deserved to know what happened. Keeping secrets was not something family did.

'We were introduced when I was two, he was eight. As per his attitude, he thought me beneath him despite being of the same status. Him being the prince and heir of the House of the Moon and me the princess and heir of the House of the Sun.'

'Wait, you're a princess?' the sisters exclaimed together.

'Whoa, never thought you were _that_ important,' Jasmine said astonished.

'Just because you now know what I was doesn't mean you can treat me any different,' Akemi said, a slight warning in her tone.

She _hated_ titles anyway.

'Wait, was?' Jasmine said catching onto the past tense.

'I was the princess of the House of the Sun, but I'll get to that in a minute,' Akemi answered. 'My mother was the heir to the House of the Sun before me and was from England, while my family originated from Japan and the House of the Moon.'

Their eyes went wide.

'No, we aren't related,' Akemi said answering their unasked question. 'While my father originated from the House of the Moon, had an important position in the House, was not in any way related to the royal family of the House of the Moon. We lived in Japan in a palace of our own. My father was the general and best friend of Tōga-ō, Sesshōmaru's father. We practically spent every day with the Taishō family because of my father's ties with him. As a child, I was easily impressed and I ended up following Sesshōmaru around like a lost puppy. He got annoyed of course, tried to convince both my parents and his to keep me away from him, that I was disturbing him from training.'

'So he's always been an overbearing, insufferable, conceited asshole,' Jasmine deducted.

The Higurashi sisters stared at her in astonishment.

Akemi laughed, breaking the tension. 'Pretty much. He's always viewed himself as self-important, even from that young an age.'

'So, what happened? Did he succeed?' Rin asked, leaning forward expectantly.

'What do you think?' the blonde yōkai repeated with a smirk. 'The adults thought there was nothing wrong with me idolising him. I followed him around for two whole years, watching his every move. Had I been older it would have been called stalking. But I realised when I was a lot older that I wasn't idolising him at all. I was _learning_.'

'Learning?' Kagome repeated.

'Learning what?' Sango asked.

'I was memorising his movements, his expressions, the way his muscles worked, everything. And when I was four, I applied that to myself and began training with a sword.'

'You picked up a sword at four years old?!' Jasmine exclaimed. 'Your parents must have surely tried to stop you!'

'They were shocked when they found out, but they were incapable of stopping me. You could say I adopted Sesshōmaru's mannerisms with dealing with other people. It made it impossible for my parents to stop me. Ever since, I've trained daily, improving myself. And when I was eight, I made it known to the rest of the world that I could fight. I bested all my father's men, defeated all of Tōga-ō's generals, including my father, and challenged Sesshōmaru.' Akemi laughed as she remembered. 'Boy was he pissed when a girl six years his junior managed to land multiple hits on him. I suppose what really angered him the most was that we were equal in power. He couldn't force me into submission like everyone else. I suppose that until that day, he hadn't taken my position as princess of the House of the Sun seriously.'

'Did he accept you in the end?' Rin asked, brown eyes sparkling.

Akemi shook her head.

Jasmine looked at her with sadness and admiration. Akemi hadn't cracked under the pressure of not being accepted. She had fought it, carving her own path with her own hands. Not many could do that, and that was why Jasmine was unable to help but admire her friend.

'Sesshōmaru attempted again and again to make me submit to him, to prove to everyone that I was this weak female yōkai that should bow to the superior. But I kept proving over and over that it was impossible to knock me down, to break my spirit, to force me into submission, that I was the underdog. I made it known that I was equal to Sesshōmaru and that I should be respected. You could say that I became his rival.'

'And he hated that,' Jasmine said with a grin.

Akemi grin's matched hers. 'I doubt that he would ever admit to me being his rival, but that was what we were. I was the only one he couldn't defeat, and it bothered him.'

'That's amazing,' Sango said, still shell-shocked. 'I never thought that I would be able to meet a yōkai that's on the same level as Sesshōmaru-sama. I mean there's Inuyasha, but Sesshōmaru-sama can easily kill him if he wanted.'

Kagome and Rin both nodded, their matching brown eyes shining with admiration.

'So what happened?' Jasmine asked, easily seeing the pain in Akemi's green eyes.

Akemi glanced at her and looked down at the grass, tugging and picking the strands apart.

'It all changed a week after my fifteenth birthday,' she said, pain entering her voice. 'My parents and I were called back to England for a House crisis. We joked about it on the plane, saying it was just another classical prank from one of the many pranksters in the House. But that wasn't the case. By the time we made it, over half of the House had been massacred. Their bodies had been brutalised to the point we couldn't identify them. We only knew they belonged to the House because of the Sun mark on their foreheads.'

Akemi clenched her fists, nails cutting into her skin, the droplets dripping onto the grass.

Jasmine quickly snatched the nearest hand and uncurled her fingers. Akemi merely watched as her hand glowed a faint green and her wounds began to close. Jasmine looked angry as she took her other hand, opening it to reveal a woundless palm covered in blood. She then settled Akemi with a warning but gentle look, those brown-green eyes appearing to delve into the yōkai's soul. While Jasmine couldn't really look into her soul, she knew that her soul itself was deeply scarred.

The sisters crowded close. Rin hugged Akemi from behind, Kagome gave her a side hug and Sango held her right hand. Jasmine sat to her left and leaned against her side.

Touched by their affections, Akemi closed her eyes and took it all in.

'Thank you,' she said, feeling calmer.

The girls didn't move away, nor did they disconnect their touch. They didn't understand why they felt the need to remain in physical contact, but they unconsciously knew that she needed it. Pack always takes care of each other, and having physical contact enabled the others to remain calm and remember that they were no longer alone. Akemi had begun a breakdown, but thanks to their quick thinking they had managed to stabilise her.

'We all fought the invaders, but they were more prepared than we had given thought to. At the time, I didn't understand how I managed to survive, but after seven hundred years of tossing and turning it through my mind, I've come to the realisation that they hadn't been prepared for me being able to fight. Though I hadn't been able to save my family, my House, I was able to survive, and thus keep the House of the Sun alive. As long as I live I will remain a target to this unknown conspirator against the House of the Sun. I intend to take them down, get revenge for my House and ensure that the House remains alive.'

'What have you been doing for the last seven hundred years?' Sango asked.

'I've been rebuilding the House of the Sun.'

'But aren't you a virgin?' Jasmine asked.

Akemi blushed. 'Not that way!'

'Then how?' Rin queried.

'It's no longer occupied by only dog yōkai. The House of the Sun has extended to every manner of creature, yōkai of all types, even hanyō, humans, phoenix, angel, faery, mermaid, djinn, elf, dragon, unicorn, pegasus, devil, imps, you name it. It's larger than the original House of the Sun, with varying powers that we still don't understand, but we're a tightknit family that looks out for one another. Just like how my family had been before.'

'So that's how you knew I was a djinn,' Jasmine wondered aloud.

The sisters looked at her. 'You're a djinn?!'

Jasmine looked at them, realising they hadn't known. 'Yup,' she said happily.

'What's a djinn?' Rin asked.

"Jinn, Romanised as djinn or anglicized as genies are supernatural creatures in early Arabian and later Islamic mythology and theology. The Quran says that jinn are made of a smokeless and 'scorching fire', but are also physical in nature, being able to interact in a tactile manner with people and objects and likewise be acted upon.' Well that's how it's explained in the Wikipedia. There are also many types of djinn.'

'Which one are you?' Kagome asked.

Jasmine's mouth clammed shut as her cheeks brightened. 'I do not know,' she finally answered looking away. 'I did not live amongst my kind, but around humans.' Jasmine lowered her head until her hair curtained her eyes. 'I'm as clueless to my species as humans are to killing the earth.'

It was Akemi's turn to comfort Jasmine, and she did so by placing a hand on Jasmine's and squeezed. Jasmine looked up at her in surprise.

'Don't worry,' Akemi said with a smile. 'I have many djinn amongst my people. I'm sure that they'll help you once I have explained the situation to them.'

'Will they want to help me?' she asked dejectedly. 'I was probably ousted from my people.'

Akemi squeezed a little tighter. 'They will not reject you. Why? Because I consider you to be part of my pack. And pack stays together, Jasmine.'

Jasmine smiled, albeit sadly, but with a hopeful light in her eyes. 'Thank you.'

'Don't forget about us,' Kagome announced.

Jasmine smiled at her and her sisters as they gave her warm smiles. 'I'm so glad I met you four.'

'We're glad we've met the pair of you too,' Sango said.

Jasmine perked up as a thought came to her. She turned to Akemi. 'So how did you meet Inuyasha?'

'You knew Inuyasha too?' the sisters said together.

Akemi laughed nervously. 'Well, just over fifty years ago I heard that Tōga-ō fell for a human. My curiosity got the better of me so I returned to Japan. They were popular, although half of their popularity wasn't positive, but it didn't take me long to find out where they lived. At first I watched them from afar. Inuyasha was such a lonely child. Not even his own brother acknowledged his existence. He scorned it actually. And like Tōga-ō, you could say I fell in love with them.'

'But Inuyasha hasn't said anything to us about you,' Kagome said.

Akemi smiled. 'Of course he wouldn't, he doesn't recognise me.'

'How?' Sango questioned.

'When I finally approached the pair, I was in my child form.'

'How's that possible?' Rin asked, taken in by her words.

'I suspect it has something to do with that pendant around her neck,' Jasmine commented, piecing a bit of the puzzle together.

'Pendant?' the twins repeated.

'Can I take a look at it?' Sango asked.

Akemi pulled it out of her top and held it in the middle of her palm, the chain elongating magically as she moved her arm over to Sango who peered closely at the jewel. The taijiya picked it up with her thumb and forefinger, brown eyes narrowed in concentration. The ever swirling mist within the jewel kept changing colours, never fixing on a specific colour. The silence between the girls was tense with anticipation, everyone looking at Sango as they waited on her expert evaluation.

'I've never seen anything like this before,' she said setting the jewel back in Akemi's hand.

The chain shortened as Akemi let it drop against her chest, the gem winking at them from where the sun hit the stone.

'What's the matter, Sango-chan?' Kagome asked.

'Sango-nee?' Rin questioned.

'I can't quite pick out what the jewel's made from. It's such a complex composition that I can't make out anything but yōki. It's blocking me from reading it,' Sango said massaging her temples.

'You can't see through the yōki because that's all you're used to sensing,' Akemi explained with a smile.

They all looked at her.

'What did you say?' Sango asked, eyes trembling. 'You do understand that anyone capable of creating a physical object from yōki alone have to be incredibly powerful? Someone of Inu no Taishō-sama's level, even Sesshōmaru's level, are capable of making these power stones.'

'But Akemi-chan is of Sesshōmaru's level,' Kagome reminded her.

Sango looked at the blonde yōkai with a questioning look. She opened her mouth.

'I'm not the maker of this stone,' Akemi said before she could ask.

'You're not?' Kagome asked, surprised.

'If you didn't make it, who did?' Jasmine questioned.

'Everyone of the House of the Sun incorporated a portion of their energy and power into the stone and gave it to me. It enables me to shapeshift into any form I wish, even into a child. The only drawback is that it cannot change my physical characteristics like my hair, eyes, skin colour and body structure. It can change my scent and my yōki so that I cannot be identified.'

'So when you changed into a child…' Jasmine began.

'It turned me into my child form. Had Sesshōmaru or Tōga-ō seen me when I was with Inuyasha or Izayoi, they would have recognised me,' Akemi finished for her.

'But it also has the ability to translate languages,' Jasmine said.

Akemi nodded in agreement.

'What else can it do?' Rin asked excited.

'Can it help with tests? Or with remembering?' Kagome asked, equally excited.

'The limits to the stone has not been tested. What I do know is that humans cannot wield it. The power is too unstable for those with weak energies and power,' Akemi explained.

'What's the worst case scenario?' Sango asked professionally.

'Death,' Akemi answered. 'That is why I do not take it off,' she looked at Jasmine, 'unless it's a special circumstance.'

'You could have killed me!' Jasmine exclaimed.

'You are strong enough to keep the instable power balanced for a limited amount of time,' Akemi explained.

'That's why you asked for it back after a while,' Jasmine said coming to an understanding.

Akemi nodded.

'Have you told Inu no Taishō-sama or Sesshōmaru-sama the situation with your family?' Sango asked.

Akemi went silent.

'You should tell them,' Jasmine told her, placing a supporting hand on her arm.

Akemi looked at the ground.

'We'll go with you if you want,' Rin said encouragingly.

Akemi shook her head. 'No. They don't need to know.'

'But,' the girls protested.

'I'm not obligated to report to them. My father may have been under their rule, but that does not extend to the House of the Sun. They do not need to know.'

'Wasn't your father friends with Inu no Taishō-sama?' Sango asked. 'Isn't it fair that you tell him what happened to him?'

'And what about Sesshōmaru? Don't you think he deserves to know?' Kagome said.

Akemi frowned at that. 'No. He doesn't.'

'At least tell Big Fluffy,' Jasmine said, startling the sisters. 'He lost his best friend and general.'

'Fine,' Akemi said after a while. 'Just…give me time.'

'And I believe you said you _was_ the princess of the House of the Sun,' Jasmine said crossing her arms. 'Care to explain that?'

Everyone turned to Akemi, anticipating an answer although they had a vague understanding.

'Before the massacre I was the heir, and with everyone in the House dead, I become its leader, Head of the House, the Queen. Whatever floats your boat. The stone was made to protect me where my House members are unable to.'

'That makes sense,' Sango said thoughtfully. 'Had the whole House of the Sun arrived in Japan, Inu no Taishō-sama would have foreseen that as an impending attack to the House of the Moon and would have taken action. To compensate for being incapable of protecting the Head of the House of the Sun, they made a stone composed of their different energies and powers. The result being an unstable mass of power that could only be kept balanced by someone with equal to or stronger than the energies the stone's comprised of. In the hands of someone with dark intentions, we could be talking about mass genocide.' Sango looked at Akemi sharply. 'As a member of the Inu Ind. security that oversees the welfare of Japan's ruling family, who happen to belong to the House of the Moon, I, Higurashi Sango, inform Taiyō Akemi-sama to keep the stone within close proximity to her person.'

Akemi reframed from sighing. 'I understand the consequences and will as such hold full responsibility for whatever happens to the stone, be it far out of my control or not.'

Sango nodded, her shoulders sagging with relief. 'Thank you. Sorry, I needed to get that off my chest. But you need to tell both Inu no Taishō-sama and Sesshōmaru-sama of the stone's existence. They need to be informed.'

 _To do that, they'll need to understand the history behind its creation,_ Akemi thought. _Revealing that history will only open the can of worms on the whole history of the House of the Sun._ Akemi sighed through her nose. _Looks like I'm going to_ have _to tell them about the massacre of the House of the Sun._

As Akemi opened her mouth to respond, a voice interrupted.

'There's no need, we already know,' Sesshōmaru's hostile voice bit through the now tense air.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Yōki – demonic energy

Inu no Taishō – dog general


	11. Chapter 11

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. A big thank you to all the loyal followers and reviewers. Another super big thank you to LADY SILVERFOX charita rai for all your interesting ideas that have made this story possible. This story is jointly owned by LADY SILVERFOX charita rai and me. The Inuyasha cast, or anything belonging to the Inuyasha story, belongs rightly to Rumiko Takahashi. Our OCs belong to us. Enjoy the story and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

' _English'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Eleven**

Sesshōmaru, alongside his father, Inuyasha and Miroku stepped out of the cover of the trees and into the small clearing.

Akemi immediately jumped to her feet, green eyes hard as she glared at Sesshōmaru, readying herself for a fight. She didn't notice how the others fanned out in a circle, trapping the five. All her eyes took in was Sesshōmaru's angered form. As angry as he dared let others know. Golden eyes were narrowed and arms crossed over his chest. What truly belied his otherwise emotionless outlook was his jaki that rolled off him in angry waves.

Tōga-ō walked until he was at the back, golden eyes focused entirely on Jasmine. She peered up at him through her long dark lashes, a remorseful but anxious look. He saw how Miroku crowded close to Sango and Rin, ensuring that they wouldn't be able to escape. Although Sango was the bigger threat out of the two. Inuyasha, on the other hand, crossed his arms as he stood close to Kagome. His youngest son's expression was hard, ensuring that Kagome knew he wasn't playing around. The middle sister decided to hang her head rather than go toe to toe with the hanyō.

'I'm disappointed, Akemi,' Tōga-ō said.

The slightest twitch of her fingers let him know she had heard.

'Why did you try to hide your species, Jasmine?' Japan's King asked the brunette.

'And risk the chance of another to trap and enslave me?' Jasmine said, a hint of boldness appearing in her tone. 'I may not know much about my species, but I do know some things. If I can prevent myself from being used like a tool for another's amusement, then I'll take whatever precautions necessary. You must understand that I do not wish to be used.'

'You needn't worry, your secret is safe with us,' he said.

At his words, Jasmine breathed a sigh of relief.

'As for you, Akemi.' The seriousness of Tōga-ō's voice had the other girls swallow nervously in Akemi's stead. 'Why did you not tell us that there was a crisis?'

'Were you not listening?' Akemi said, an edge to her voice. 'We hadn't even considered the severity of the emergency.'

'That does not excuse you from hiding it from us,' Sesshōmaru said angrily.

'You're angry? _You're angry?_ ' she bit angrily, her voice rose with her anger until she was snapping. ' _You're_ not the one who's lost your entire family! _You_ don't know what it's like to lose a single member of your family, let alone all of them! You have _no right_ to be angry!'

'As much as it hurts you, Akemi, your father was my best friend,' Tōga-ō said to her.

'Don't,' she warned, her voice hoarse and almost at the point of breaking.

'You're not the only one affected by their deaths,' he continued.

'Don't,' she warned again, anger and pain making the word come out as a growl.

'Kaen was more than just my general, he was my best friend and someone I treated as a brother. I trusted him to watch my back, and he trusted me. You were too young to understand seven hundred years ago, but you're an adult now. The tragic deaths of your parents and your House does not rest on your shoulders alone. I should have known that something was wrong. I had the signs on the day you left.'

'I said don't!' Akemi snapped, her yōki blasting forth from the restraints and knocking all but Tōga-ō and Sesshōmaru off their feet.

Tōga-ō caught Jasmine as soon as her feet lifted off the ground. He had to dig his feet into the earth as her yōki buffeted against him, stronger than he had ever felt before. He felt his own yōki pushing against his restraints, his beast pounding against its mental cage wanting to force the yōkai into submission. He held it back, something he struggled with since his beast was adamant and persistent. If he was struggling this much, he wondered how Sesshōmaru was coping with his.

Miroku had managed to wrap his arms around Sango and Rin just as the three of them were swept off their feet. Miroku's back slammed into a tree, knocking the wind from his lungs. His head throbbed from where it banged against the tree trunk. With a pulsing head, Miroku looked up, wincing in pain at the movement. His blue eyes connected on Akemi's form. Her fists were clenched, droplets of blood dripping onto the grass. He couldn't believe the sheer force of her yōki. He hadn't expected it would be able to physically blow them off their feet. If this was just touching the iceberg of her powers, he seriously didn't want to go up against her when she was actually fighting, let alone fighting seriously.

Inuyasha wrapped Kagome in his arms, his back smacking against a tree. Winded, Inuyasha glared up at Akemi but his frown turned into shock when the sunlight glinted off teardrops as they fell. Akemi hung her head, hair shadowing her eyes, but Inuyasha could not only see the tears winking in the light but he could smell them. First he had been shocked that she was the girl he had played with as a child, and then finding out she was actually over seven hundred years old with the ability to shapeshift and that she grew up with his asshole off a brother. Had that not been enough of a shocker, discovering that she belonged to a prestigious royal House like Sesshōmaru, and that she had been the only survivor of the massacre, took it over the top. But after seven hundred years, she was still plagued by the death of her House. Inuyasha had never met a yōkai who actually _cared_. He knew his childhood friend was different, but he had believed it was because she was a child like him.

He couldn't believe that she had been an adult all along!

Sesshōmaru had always known Akemi to be equal to him in power, something he despised. But this was the first time in over seven hundred years he felt her power buffet against him, and he hated to admit to himself that she was nothing like how she used to be. But she wasn't the only one that had grown in power. Sesshōmaru was nothing like how he used to be. But there was one thing that had never changed. His beast clawed, roared and pushed against its cage, wanting nothing more than to dominate her. As always, it reacted whenever she was near, wanting her submissive and obedient. But Akemi wasn't the type of yōkai to willingly submit. She'd fight him the entire way. And so the game continued. Sesshōmaru would dominate her.

'Sesshōmaru,' Tōga-ō's voice dragged him out of his thoughts of domination.

Sesshōmaru's cold eyes locked with his father's.

'Take Akemi somewhere quiet.'

'Wait! No!' Jasmine protested, trying to remove Tōga-ō's arms from around her. He didn't budge. 'Let go of me!'

'What can you do for her right now?' Tōga-ō asked her, successfully halting her struggles.

'I'm her friend,' Jasmine said as if it explained everything and she renewed her struggles.

'There's nothing you can do,' Sesshōmaru said indifferently.

Jasmine glowered at him. 'I don't care what _you_ say! Just leave her alone! She doesn't need the likes of you making matters worse!'

'She doesn't need pity either,' Tōga-ō said to Jasmine, nodding at Sesshōmaru to continue.

Sesshōmaru stepped forward, uncrossing his arms as he stood an inch away from Akemi. He looked down at her five-foot-two frame. Being a foot taller, he thought it would be easy to overcome her. But while she barely came to his shoulders, he knew she was a lot stronger than she looked. His past struggles to prove his superiority over her weren't his imagination, nor was her power. She was the real deal. But she was distraught, something only the weak suffered with. These emotions were nothing but a hassle. That's why he pushed them aside. Emotions only made you weak. So why was she so strong? Why was Inuyasha? Did they actually make you stronger?

No. Emotions only made you weak. And weakness would be used against you.

'Stay away from her!' Jasmine was yelling from Tōga-ō's arms, trying with all her strength to get loose.

Sesshōmaru placed a hand on Akemi's lower back, the touch light, barely there, but it was enough to lead Akemi away from the area. He frowned at how easily he was able to manipulate her in this state. While it was one way to dominate her, he did not want to force her into submission while she was at her weakest. He wanted to face her true strength and show her that he was the dominate one. The alpha that she was supposed to bow too.

'Akemi!' Jasmine cried out.

The cry of a pack member had the beast within Akemi snap out of its pain and into red-hot rage. Teeth bared and claws pushing against Akemi's control, she whirled on Sesshōmaru so fast he didn't know what hit him until his back slammed into a tree. The bark cracked under the force, almost breaking it in half.

Sesshōmaru stared wide eyed at Akemi, who's incisor had lengthened into fangs and green eyes turned blue surrounded by red sclera. She was so close to transforming. The rage in her eyes was genuine. She had either given herself to her beast, or she was just that angry. Either way, she was far too dangerous. Only he and his father were capable of dealing with her in this state. His father was too busy holding Jasmine back, so it left it down to him to calm her down. In the past, he had only instigated the fights between them. How could he calm her down?

'Are you really willing to risk your pack, Akemi?' Sesshōmaru said in the same indifferent voice.

She growled dangerously, becoming more animal by the second.

That did not go as planned.

Her agility surprised him again, and by the time he remembered he needed to move, she had knocked him to the ground and straddled his chest. She raised a clawed hand into the air and slashed at his face. He blocked it with his arm, her claws cutting deep. The sight and smell of his blood only sent her further into a frenzy. She slashed at him over and over again with both hands. Sesshōmaru became incapable of doing anything other than protecting his face from the onslaught. Her attacks were too close together, too quick, and they were cutting deeper and deeper into his skin. If he didn't get her off him, he was going to lose an arm, or two.

'What's wrong with her?' Kagome exclaimed, becoming scared.

Jasmine gasped at the violence her friend was displaying, brown-green eyes wide with worry for her.

'She's succumbing to her basic instincts,' Inuyasha explained as he and Kagome joined the others.

'Why aren't you stopping her?' Sango demanded from the hanyō. 'Are you just going to let her kill Sesshōmaru-sama?'

'But why is she attacking him?' Rin asked, brown eyes worried and fearful.

'It's because she's answering a distress call from her pack,' Tōga-ō explained.

'But no one called out-' Sango began and stopped.

They all looked at Jasmine just as she gasped and covered her mouth in shock.

'It's because of me,' she said stepping back and bumped into Tōga-ō's chest.

'Yes,' Tōga-ō agreed, making Jasmine's stomach drop further. 'She's protecting you. And once she's dealt with Sesshōmaru, she'll most likely come after me, and then the others.'

'How do I stop her?' Jasmine pleaded, turning in his arms to look up at him.

'You can't,' he confirmed. 'Not until either we or she is dead.'

Hopelessness settled deep in Jasmine's stomach. Tears sprung to her eyes at how useless she was, how she had failed her friend. She sought the comfort of the nearest person, who happened to be Tōga-ō who held her, and buried her face in his chest. Understanding without words, Tōga-ō held her close, letting her tears soak into his kosode, as he watched the helpless Sesshōmaru trying to protect himself from Akemi's ruthless attacks.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth at standing uselessly on the side-lines. He vaguely remembered a time when this had happened before when he was a child. Like then, he hoped that it would work now. And so, before anyone could object, he charged forward and took one of the attacks aimed at Sesshōmaru.

His sleeve tore open under her sharp claws, helpless against those lethal weapons, cutting deep into his arm. He stood over Sesshōmaru, like a dog or wolf intent on defending their pack, clutching his arm just beneath the wound. His blood coated his hand and dripped down onto Sesshōmaru's chest, who stared incredulously up at his little half-brother who had stood in the way of the attack intended for him.

'Inu-ya-sha,' Akemi's voice trembled.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth at the pain and chuckled. 'Finally came back to ya senses, Mi-chan?'

Everyone stared in surprise as Akemi's body trembled. She took multiple steps back, staring at her right hand that was coated in blood, both Sesshōmaru's and Inuyasha's. Her iris returned to their normal gem green, while the red sclera slowly receded until they were white. Her beast whined, ashamed of how it had attacked a pack member. She looked ready to collapse where she stood.

'Akemi, I'm sorry,' Jasmine's voice called out. 'I'm so sorry.'

Akemi looked over at her, shocked at her friend's tearful face. 'W-what happened?'

'You let your basic instincts take control and attacked Sesshōmaru with the intent of killing him,' Tōga-ō explained, his voice a little harsher than one would expect.

'Inu no Taishō-sama!' Sango protested. 'You said she was protecting Jasmine! You can't exactly blame her for this.'

'Yes I can,' he said, golden eyes hard as they locked with Akemi's. 'If she has such little control over her beast, then I will have to isolate her. She's far too dangerous to be allowed free roam around the other students.'

'Oyaji!' Inuyasha protested.

Sesshōmaru pushed himself to his feet, his wounds healing, but his fingers twitched at the pain.

'Not only was she incapable of controlling a beast that sought to protect its pack brought on by the mere memory of the mass genocide of her previous pack, she hasn't yet faced her past but rather let it fester. Today was the result of her incapability of facing it.' Tōga-ō sighed. 'I had a feeling you had a problem, but I had no idea it was this bad. I have no choice but to isolate you from the others.'

'You do remember what happened last time you isolated her?' Sesshōmaru said, dusting down his ballooned hakama.

'I remember perfectly well. That's why I'll leave you in charge of her.'

'What?' everyone but Tōga-ō, Sesshōmaru and Akemi exclaimed.

'Did you not just see what happened? What if it happens again?' Jasmine semi-yelled at him.

Tōga-ō smiled down at her and patted her head. 'It was Sesshōmaru who had taught Akemi how to transform for the very first time.'

Everyone, but the three who knew, stared with gaping mouths at what he just said.

'I'll be fine,' Akemi's voice was quiet, but clear. Her troubled green eyes looked at Jasmine. She forced a smile on her face. 'Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself.'

'Are you sure?' Jasmine asked, wanting to reach out, to touch her, hug her, anything to give her some comfort. Jasmine hated how she looked so defeated, so lost.

The blonde yōkai nodded. 'I hate how I had lost myself to my beast. I shouldn't have harmed Inuyasha, let alone Sesshōmaru. Regardless of my opinion on him, he didn't deserve to be mauled without justification. I don't want it happening again, not if I come back to myself and find that I've harmed any one of you. Pack does not harm one another. And yet, I harmed Inuyasha. I need to be punished, even if the isolation will damage me.'

'That's why you're stuck with me, idiot,' Sesshōmaru said, a hint of something in his tone.

Akemi looked up at him surprised.

He grimaced. 'Stop looking at me like that! I don't need your pity!'

'I don't pity you,' Akemi said, a teasing smirk finding its way on her face. 'I'm just surprised at how defenceless you were against a female, an out of control female no less. It appears you haven't grown quite as strong as I thought you had.'

'You're going to eat those words,' he warned.

'I seriously doubt that.'

He suddenly grabbed her arm and began pulling her with him. 'Let's go. The sooner we deal with your lack of control the better.'

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Akemi began exhibiting signs of normalcy. The only one who remained worried was Jasmine. She couldn't quite shake the feeling that there was something else that was going to go wrong for her friend. Spending close quarters with a man she viewed as a rival was either going to make her worse or actually help her. It remained to be seen. Jasmine just hoped that Sesshōmaru didn't treat Akemi wrongly. If so, he'll realise that you should never make a djinn angry.

'Now then,' Tōga-ō said bringing the attention around to him. He was looking down at Jasmine, who peered up at him curiously. 'To deal with you.'

She gulped nervously, especially with the way he stared at her so intensely.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Jaki – evil energy. It is commonly referred to as the malicious energy around a yōkai, like a demonic aura.

Yōki – demonic energy. It's the energy and power utilised by yōkai.

Kosode – basic Japanese robe for men and women.

Hakama – traditional Japanese clothing-like trousers.

Oyaji - father


	12. Chapter 12

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. Congratulations, you've finally reached chapter twelve. Thank you to all the readers, reviewers and those who favorited this story. Thank you to LADY SILVERFOX charita rai for all your ideas and help. This story is owned by both LADY SILVERFOX charita rai and myself. We owned all rights to our OCs Jasmine and Akemi, but we do not lay claim to the Inuyasha cast. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

' _English'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Twelve**

Tōga-ō led Jasmine back to the school building, his gaze intense while his mind was frantic with thoughts. Though his mind was distracted, he was aware of all that was around him. Or at least that's what he convinced himself to believe. He was all too aware of Jasmine trailing behind him, the scent of fear and anxiety that wafted from her pores, even the way she kept a certain distance between them. He frowned at the thought that she feared him. He was used to dealing with people who feared him, but he was not used to females he was attracted to fearing him.

Due to his lack of awareness, Tōga-ō didn't sense or see the female panther yōkai staring at the pair with a gaping mouth. He merely opened the door and ushered Jasmine in first. He led her through the corridors at a quick pace that she found herself lagging behind just a bit. Jogging to keep up every now and again, she felt relief wash through her when they finally reached their destination. The headmaster's office. But a new bout of fear unfurled when she realised that she was going to be trapped alone with him in that room. At that thought, Jasmine felt the beginnings of her arousal rise.

 _Shit,_ she cursed in English. _What rotten luck._

Tōga-ō's shoulders stiffened as a familiar smell caught his attention. This was going to be torture, he decided as he opened the headmaster's office and waved her through first. As she passed him, Tōga-ō tensed even further as her arm accidentally brushed his. He swallowed nervously and closed the door, trapping her very enticing scent in with them. He found himself wanting to massage his temples _and_ suddenly wanting a very cold shower. He could feel parts of him awakening that he wished wouldn't at this particular moment in time.

Jasmine fidgeted where she stood, all too aware of her bodily changes, but unaware the effect it was having on Tōga-ō.

'The bathroom's through there,' Tōga-ō announced, pointing to the door on the right.

Jasmine felt her face grow hot and she quickly retreated to the bathroom.

Tōga-ō watched her go. He was relieved that he was no longer drowning under the scent of her heat, but he was disturbed by the scent of fear that clung to her. As attracted as he found himself to her, the idea that she feared him held him back. And though his thoughts still lingered with traces of Izayoi, he no longer beat himself over being interested in another woman. After all, he had only been loyal to two other women. Where was the harm in finding another woman to share his life with? He knew he couldn't deny this attraction to Jasmine, but he was not going to attempt to court her when she feared him.

But that was not what he wanted to talk to her about. He needed to discover as much as possible about her species, before his ignorance gets him into trouble he won't be able to get out of.

He strode over to the desk and sank into the black leather chair. He booted up the laptop as he waited for Jasmine to emerge from the bathroom and logged onto the internet, typing 'Djinn' into the search engine. Far too much information was listed, nothing concrete that he could trust or believe. He hated this feeling of uselessness and incapability. Until today, he had never heard of the djinn species. If he was honest with himself, he was surprised that Akemi knew about them before him. being the King of Japan gave him access to all manner of things. But she not only knew about them, she had djinn in the newly rebuilt House of the Sun.

The soft click of a door closing snapped Tōga-ō out of his thoughts. He looked up and locked his golden gaze on Jasmine's mixed eyes. The green added colour to the brown, and for some odd reason the green of her eyes reminded him of fire. He was sure there was a reason for it, but he didn't know why. Beneath the scent of her heat he could smell vanilla oatmeal combined with the scent of a smokeless fire. It was this fiery scent that belied her humanity. Jasmine Sarish Samaira was far from human.

How he didn't realise until now was a mystery.

But where she drew the line between human and monster remained more of a mystery than anything else. He didn't know anything about her, about her species. What morals did she follow? What were the djinn like? No matter the question he had no answer to it. And the only one who had the answers stood before him now. He was sure that Akemi had some answers in regards to the djinn species, but Jasmine should know more about her species than anyone else.

'You should know why I've called you here,' he said stapling his fingers together on the desk.

She nodded.

'But first, tell me how you've come to be fluent in Japanese. When you arrived here you were incapable of speaking simple words, but now you're speaking as fluent as if you were born here.'

Her eyes took on a gleam of a fiery spirit, once more reminding Tōga-ō of her inhumanness.

'Djinn are masters of many things. Grasping languages at a much quicker rate than humans is only one of many things we can do.'

'What can _you_ do?' he asked, emphasising the one word to know that he was on about her individually rather than her whole species.

Her face flushed and she looked away embarrassed.

'I do not know,' she muttered, hands playing with the hem of her oversized black top.

Tōga-ō raised an eyebrow. 'You are an inexperienced djinn?'

'I merely follow my instincts when it concerns my abilities. I have minor telekinesis and the ability over fire but I can't always control that.'

'Is that all?' he asked, surprised to hear that she possessed so little

She flushed in humiliation. 'Like you said, I'm an inexperienced djinn. I have no one to teach me how to control my abilities or to unlock the ones I don't know about,' she said angrily.

'I apologise if I offended you,' he said sincerely.

She nodded to acknowledge his apology.

'Now then, let's discuss this at length, shall we?'

* * *

Karan disregarded the school rule to not run in the hallways and raced with agile flexibility around the students and over to where her sisters and brother were. She was full of excitement and juicy gossip that her siblings would love to hear. So would the whole school for that matter. Even she herself couldn't believe what she had just seen. She was just itching to blurt it out now, but she wanted her siblings to be the first to know before letting any of her friends know.

'Nee-san!' Karan cried out after seeing her sister's light blue hair.

'Karan, what's the matter?' the tallest of the sisters asked when Karan stopped next to her, hands on her knees, gasping for breath.

'You're not going to believe who I just saw together!' she blurted, red eyes bright with excitement.

'Well stop stalling and tell us!' Shūran demanded, crossing his thick burly arms across his green clad chest.

'The Inu no Taishō was with that new girl, Jasmine!' she blurted, voice excited.

'Are you sure she wasn't stalking him like most of the other girls do?' Shūran asked, discounting her story.

'No, that's wrong!' Karan said, hands clenched in fists. 'They were together! He even held the door open for her! I'm telling you, they were heading to a more secluded place to have some privacy!'

Tōran smiled. 'Oh? Is that so? I never thought the King of Japan would be that type of man. But then, he did fall in love with a human before.'

Shunran giggled. 'That'll soil his reputation some more, don't you think?'

Tōran smirked. 'Japan's Great King taken in by a human, again. Oh how the media would soak this up. Imagine what they'd do with this information.'

'Nee-san, you're so evil,' Karan said grinning.

'Why should the dogs sit on top all the time? Looking down at us as if we're beneath them, it pisses me off,' she said with a sneer. 'Well, if they're not careful, they're going to lose their positions to someone like us.'

'It's not just the Inu no Taishō,' Shunran said, a mischievous smile on her lips.

'You should have seen the fight yesterday,' Shūran agreed, a grin on his face. 'Kagura and Kikyō both got their asses handed to them.'

'Oh? By who?'

'By the new girls,' Shunran answered. 'Although that Jasmine's got some unusual abilities, for a human, it's Taiyō Akemi that's the main problem. She's a dog yōkai just like Sesshōmaru and it seems the two have some kind of past connection.'

'Yeah, Kagura was beyond pissed when Sesshōmaru acted familiar with that Akemi,' Shūran said. 'Embracing her from behind, even going as far as to lick her neck and then her wound that Kagura managed to make.'

'Hmmm,' Tōran hummed in thought, blue eyes briefly flashing with anger. 'Let's make the Taishō family's life a living hell.'

'What do you want us to do, nee-san?' Karan asked, eager to participate.

'Spread these rumours around the school,' she answered, taking her mobile phone out of her pocket. 'You can even make some up. Just make it believable. I'm going to inform the tabloids of this new development in our _beloved_ royal family's lives.'

'What about the hanyō?' Shūran asked.

'He's quite chummy with that human female, Kagome,' Shunran said delighted.

'Might as well include that blasted monk, Miroku, in the rumours as well,' Tōran said.

'Heh, you're really going all out, nee-san,' Shūran said smirking.

'Of course,' Tōran answered, an evil glint to her blue eyes. 'We'll make them regret suppressing us of the panther tribe for as long as they have.'

Karan whistled. 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,' she whispered to Shunran.

Shunran nodded in agreement and giggled. 'This'll be fun.'

* * *

'I'm worried about Akemi-chan and Jasmine-chan,' Kagome said, watching as the pair were led away in different directions.

'Keh, I'm not worried about Jasmine one bit,' Inuyasha said. 'Oyaji will take care of her. He's not the type to attack a woman without cause. It's Sesshōmaru who's the problem. That bastard doesn't care whether they're male or female, but if they stand in his way or damage his pride, he'd kill them.'

'Akemi-hime's done more than just damage Sesshōmaru-sama's pride,' Miroku pointed out.

'But Sesshōmaru-sama won't really kill her, will he? Rin asked worriedly, brown eyes ready to tear up at any second.

'Honestly, I'm not so sure,' Miroku admitted. 'Even with Akemi-hime's confession of being his rival, I'm still incapable of understanding Sesshōmaru-sama's intentions.'

'He won't kill her,' Sango said confidently.

Everyone turned to her surprised.

'I'm not sure if any of you realised, but Sesshōmaru-sama acted almost _gentle_ when he was dealing with Akemi.'

' _Gentle_?' Inuyasha repeated. 'What world are you living in? Sesshōmaru is _never_ gentle!'

'He could have killed her countless times over in that incontrollable state, but didn't,' Sango pointed out. 'If he really wanted her dead, he would have done it.'

Rin clapped happily. 'You mean to say that there's something going on between them?'

Inuyasha looked like he was going to puke.

Miroku blinked but then a lecherous smile appeared on his face as he held his chin between his forefinger and thumb. 'Perhaps Sesshōmaru-sama has taken Akemi-hime to thoroughly examine her condition.'

Sango punched him on his head.

'What was that for, Sango?' he complained, rubbing the back of his head.

'Stop thinking such perverted things. Neither Sesshōmaru-sama nor Akemi are anything like you.'

'Sesshōmaru-sama is a man before he's the prince of Japan,' Miroku reminded them. 'Do you really believe he is incapable of such things?'

Inuyasha sneered. 'He's far too prideful to do anything like that. He'll think it's too beneath him.'

'Sesshōmaru-sama's perfect! There's no way he'll be as corrupt as you, Miroku,' Rin announced, causing the girls to laugh as Miroku looked dejected.

'But what do you suppose he will do to her?' Kagome asked, kick-starting Miroku's perverted thoughts. She glared at him. 'I'm not on about what you're considering, Miroku-sama!'

Sango punched him on the head.

'What was _that_ for?' he asked, rubbing the spot.

'I'm sure Akemi will be fine, Kagome,' Sango said, ignoring Miroku to smile reassuringly down at her sister.

'What about Jasmine?' Rin piped up. 'She's new to Japan. Do you think she'll be alright?'

'Inu no Taishō-sama's looking after her, Rin,' Sango said.

'He's the most dependable one of the Taishō family. Jasmine-sama will be just fine,' Miroku said, also smiling.

'Oi!' Inuyasha protested.

'You're right about that. There's _nothing_ dependable about Inuyasha,' Kagome agreed.

'Watch it!' Inuyasha growled at her.

'Make me!' she bit back at him, easily getting into an argument.

Rin smiled at the pair while Sango and Miroku merely sighed at their usual antics.

 _Akemi was right. Definitely in love_ , Sango thought while watching the arguing pair.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Nee-san – older sister

Hime – princess

Sama – respectful term, but is used as lord or lady in this story

Inu no Taishō – dog general


	13. Chapter 13

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. I'm your host, WhiteAngelAnime, otherwise known as Kitty. I'd like to thank those who have remained loyal to the story and put up with my lengthy updates. I thank LADY SILVERFOX charita rai for all your ideas. This story is jointly owned by LADY SILVERFOX charita rai and myself. We have all claims over our OCs, but the Inuyasha cast solely belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I thank you for your time and patience. Now, onto chapter thirteen of Trap of Darkness. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

' _English'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Thirteen**

Tōga-ō wanted to sigh but restrained himself. His head pounded with all the information on djinn that he was almost stuck at a loss. But that wasn't the worst of it. Because this was the first time he was dealing with djinn, he was incapable of helping Jasmine to control her powers. But the djinn did not trust easily. Finding someone who knew not only how to deal with them, but also help them when it concerns their powers running amok, was going to be exceptionally difficult. But finding one of the djinn was going to be that much harder. How was he going to stabilise her powers?

'And you know no one that can teach you?' he asked.

'No,' she answered.

He gritted his teeth in frustration.

Out of all the dilemmas he could have faced, it had to be an inexperienced djinn with control issues.

'What about Akemi?' Jasmine asked, her fingers picking at the edge of her top.

Tōga-ō snapped his gaze to hers the moment that name left her lips. His eyes slightly furrowed.

'Akemi? I don't doubt her power, but what could she do?' he leaned his cheek on his fist that was rested on the arm of the chair by his elbow.

Jasmine bit her bottom lip for a second, frustrated that he would look down on Akemi.

'Have you forgotten that she has a few djinn in her House?' she asked, her voice turning harsh.

'I have not forgotten,' he answered.

'Then it's simple enough for her to contact them and to explain the situation,' she said, brown-green eyes narrowing. 'It's the only option that we have.'

He leaned back in his chair, his expression troubled with the decision.

It appeared to be their only option. But was it? While it was clear that it was the only one available to them, Tōga-ō couldn't help but think there might be an option they hadn't yet established. But was he getting ahead of himself? Or was he simply being too stubborn to accept help from a third party? Many would say he was merely being stubborn, but there might be a few who would believe there was an option that hadn't yet been discovered. But if he didn't make a decision now, the possibility of Jasmine's powers going completely out of control grows higher. If he didn't deal with that lack of restraint over her powers as soon as possible, nothing short of a disaster would come about. As much as he hated having to rely upon another, he had no choice but to ask Akemi to contact the djinn of her House.

'Very well,' he said, finally backing down.

But Jasmine still looked angry.

'What's wrong?' he asked.

Her eyes narrowed.

'Do you enjoy looking down on others, Inu no Taishō-sama?' she asked, her voice dropping.

'Eh?' he said confused. 'Jasmine, what are you talking about? Of course I don't!'

It was strange how her eyes, in that moment, looked more green than brown. It was almost as if a fire had been ignited inside of her.

'I really don't know whether to believe that,' she said, her voice hard and almost devoid of emotion. 'If Akemi's power was the only thing to combat death for the yōkai race, would you believe in her?'

Tōga-ō frowned. 'I don't know why you're talking like this, but there's no way that Akemi's strong enough, or has the power, to keep the yōkai race from perishing. There are many yōkai out there far stronger than she could ever hope to be, and they can protect much more than she ever could. I understand she's strong, but that's due to the bloodline in which she was born. That has nothing to do with actual strength.'

Before he had the chance to register what happened, his head had been forced to turn with the intensity of the slap, the sound echoing in the silence.

Golden eyes widened at the assault, he placed a hand where she had slapped him and stared up at her incredulously. She looked every bit an angry djinn in that moment, regardless that he had never seen one of her species before. There was something primal, wild, untameable, spirited and fierce about her, almost akin to fire itself. The intensity in which she looked down at him unnerved him, something he hadn't felt in centuries.

He found himself incapable of speech as he sat there, golden eyes wide as he looked up at a being that he barely understood.

'I don't know what the hell it is with the male species, but I'm sick of hearing "what you can do, I can do better" shit.' Her now wholly green eyes glowed like a living flame. 'Well, Mr High and Mighty, if you think you're all that and then some, why don't you prove it? I bet you can't, can you? You don't have the power to do it yourself, ya puta. King of Japan my ass. You're nothing without that title.'

Tōga-ō got to his feet, golden eyes tinged red with anger. 'Now wait just a minute. I don't know why you're so angry, but you can't just-'

Jasmine slammed a hand on his desk, a green and blue fire erupting from the touch.

Startled, Tōga-ō quickly stepped away, but Jasmine only advanced on him. Her eyes burned with rage, a rage that rivalled his son's. The only difference was that Sesshōmaru held his temper in. Jasmine was all about expressing it, and the intensity was overwhelming, even for someone like Tōga-ō.

'Listen here you come burping gutter slut, you're just a whiny ass bitch because you want it your way. Sorry, asshole, but the world doesn't work that way. The world doesn't revolve around your bitch ass. And even if it did, you'd be the last person I'd rely on,' she shouted venomously, and settled with a searing glare before storming out of the office before Tōga-ō could even open his mouth.

 _What the hell just happened?_ Was the only thought in Tōga-ō's head as he stared incredulously at the door.

* * *

Karan had just finished talking to one of the biggest gossipers in the school when she found herself in the quiet hallways of the school that a rare few were allowed. Wearing a big smile at the self-assured victory over the Taishō family, Karan began humming softly as she practically skipped through the abandoned hallways, her footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. It wasn't until she could hear someone's raised voice that she paid attention to where she was. At first startled, Karan's surprise morphed into a gleeful grin.

She silently ran over to the double doors and pressed her ear against the wood.

'Listen here you come burping gutter slut, you're just a whiny ass bitch because you want it your way. Sorry, asshole, but the world doesn't work that way. The world doesn't revolve around your bitch ass. And even if it did, you'd be the last person I'd rely on.'

Karan couldn't believe what she heard. The voice clearly belonged to Jasmine, the new girl that she had seen with Tōga-ō.

'No way,' she whispered.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Karan quickly assessed where she could hide, but found nowhere. Cursing under her breath, Karan quickly jumped and dug claws into the wall near the ceiling, clinging for dear life just as the doors burst open and slammed shut behind a very aggravated human. Karan stared wide eyed as she stormed down the hallway, muttering and cursing under her breath, too low for even Karan's sensitive hearing to detect.

Jumping down on silent feet, Karan laid a hand on her hip and watched Jasmine's retreating back with a sly grin.

'Eh? A lover's quarrel already?' her grin turned more sadistic. She licked her lips. 'You really don't know how you're just adding to these rumours.'

Karan headed back, taking her mobile out of her pocket and dialling a certain number, all the while her grin only grew.

 _Thanks for making this so easy_ , she thought as the person on the other end picked up.

* * *

'Get your hands off me!' Akemi snapped, twisting out of Sesshōmaru's grip.

He pushed the door closed and stood in front of it with arms crossed over his chest, golden eyes staring down at the foot shorter woman.

'Don't look at me like that!' she said angrily, green eyes glaring at him.

'Like what?' he asked uncaringly.

She growled instead of answering.

'Need I remind you why you're in isolation in the first place?'

'Need I remind you why you're such an asshole?' she bit back.

His eyes narrowed.

'Control yourself, Akemi. Or do you wish a repeat of earlier?'

'The part where I kicked your ass?' she growled, a smirk forming on her face.

He growled at the reminder. 'If we were to really fight, it would not go in your favour.'

'That confidence will be your downfall, Sesshōmaru.'

'Not against you.'

Her glare turned deadlier. 'Why do you always insist on looking down on me? I'm not a ridiculously vulnerable female incapable of fighting! I'm nothing like how I used to be! If you don't stop treating me as a useless female, you're going to regret it. I am no longer the Taiyō Akemi you remember. I'm Taiyō Akemi, Head and Lady of the House of the Sun.'

'So you have changed,' he commented, his tone never changing.

But that didn't stop him from being surprised at her words. He had always known that she would one day inherit the throne of the House of the Sun from her parents, but he had not suspected it to be before he claimed the throne from his father. Despite having lost her entire family, and every member of the House of the Sun, Sesshōmaru had still retained the belief that she was still just the heir. How had she managed to take over the throne? Surely being the last did not automatically hand over the positon to her. Had her power really increased that much?

When they were children, Akemi had been his biggest challenge, but she had never won against him. Not once.

So where had this power of hers come from?

Did he really think that she'd still be the same after seven hundred years apart?

No, did he really think that she'd forever remain incomparable to him?

He always believed that she'd remain subservient to him, but he was proven wrong. Akemi was definitely not the same person he knew. She was no longer the female who tried everything in order to beat him. She was no longer the same person who challenged him and kept him on his toes. She had changed, irrevocably. If he intended to take her on as she was now, he was going to have to do so with caution. She would not easily react to the same methods he applied when they were younger, in fact, she'd be warier of them now compared to back then. She had grown in many ways.

It was time he ceased underestimating her.

He could feel it. Her power. She would be more than he could handle with his current power.

She had left him behind, and he hated it. He hated how he was no longer able to force her into admiration over his prowess and supremacy.

Her green eyes appeared to glow. 'You really think I'd sit back and do nothing? You're more foolish than I ever believed you to be, Sesshōmaru. Rather, I'm disappointed that you would think that way of me.' She unconsciously clenched her fists. 'Just acknowledge the fact that we're now equals and things will go a lot smoother.'

Oh, he'd admit she's stronger than before, but he was never going to accept that they'll be on equal footing. Not ever. The thought was ridiculous.

Sesshōmaru raised his head, and proceeded to look down his nose at her. 'You on equal footing with this Sesshōmaru? Don't be absurd. You call that power? You're the one who's foolish, Akemi.'

He was still looking down on her. The bastard was still looking down on her!

Clenching her fists, blood escaped and trickled down to her knuckles and then dripped onto the floor. She bit her lip, trying to reframe from losing control again. He was already poking at her defences due to losing control beforehand. She couldn't allow him to do so again. She was the leader of the House of the Sun, even if it was only because she was the only survivor. Even if that was the only reason she had obtained her newfound title, as Head and Lady of the House of the Sun, she needed to be careful of her words and actions. They would surely travel faster than any accomplishment she'd set out to do.

Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself by counting down from ten.

She looked at him, her eyes devoid of emotions and the inner fire she had showed not so long ago.

'You'll come to regret looking down upon me, Sesshōmaru of the House of the Moon.'

He slightly frowned at the sight of a clearly calm and serious Akemi.

She had _always_ charged at him with her fists ready.

Where had that Akemi gone? Had she really changed that much? But why? How?

' _Humph_ , I have no reason to take you seriously.'

Her fingers twitched but that was it.

That part of her was still there, but she was suppressing it, a feat that shocked him inwardly.

She had never been like this before. She had truly changed, much more than he could ever guess. This was a different Akemi. He could no longer deny it. But her power? Yes, she had certainly grown stronger, but strong enough to actually be on par with him? He doubted that. Was he going to have to push all of her buttons to find the extent of her powers? Was he going to have to make an enemy of her in order to find out? He didn't know, but he did not want to make an enemy of the House of the Sun, especially if she was its current leader and Lady. They'd do anything to protect her, as would anyone else in their position.

'You'll have to excuse me, but I must get in touch with my people,' she said taking 'no' for an answer and withdrew her mobile phone and took a seat, opting to ignore him from then on.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Puta – bitch in Spanish


	14. Chapter 14

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness, my faithful followers, reviewers and readers. I apologise for the long update. I'm not going to bore you with the details. But thank you for your patience! I'd like to thank those who remain loyal to the story. And I'd like to thank LADY SILVERFOX charita rai the most for her support, reviews and her ideas. The story is jointly owned by LADY SILVERFOX charita rai and myself. We hold no claim over the Inuyasha cast, just our own characters. I thank you for your time and patient. And now, onto chapter fourteen of Trap of Darkness. Enjoy reading and please don't forget to review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

' _English'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Fourteen**

Isolation with the world's most stuck-up male had not been fun. What had made the experience bearable was that she had ignored him for the rest of the school hours and conversed with one of the members of her House. She knew that she couldn't do this each and every time. No, that was just a one off. She knew that he'd be more forceful next time. And he'd start by depriving her of her phone. Not that she cared about the small device personally, however, it was the only means for her to contact her House. She did not want to result to telepathy, considering the major headaches that would come with it.

Sighing, she stepped into her shared dorm with her four friends and immediately froze in the doorway.

' _Jasmine, what are you doing?'_ Akemi asked in English.

' _Packing,'_ the djinn answered immediately, her tone hinting at suppressed anger.

Stepping into the room and letting the door close behind her, Akemi made her way over to her bed, the second to last lined up against the right wall, and perched on the edge. She watched, puzzled, as Jasmine stuffed her folded clothes into her suitcase with more force than necessary. Had it not been the one worded answer, filled with suppressed anger, then Akemi would have immediately recognised something was wrong due to the way she packed. Her movements sang with aggression.

'Why _are you packing?'_ the yōkai asked.

' _I need to get away from here for a while,'_ her pack mate answered.

' _Do you want to talk about it?'_ the blonde asked gently.

' _Where are the others?'_ the brunette asked.

' _Sango's with Miroku slaying disobedient yōkai. Kagome's with Inuyasha, who's taken her to Inu Ind. to get tested. Rin went with them to see them off before going into town to shop.'_

Upon hearing the news, Jasmine sat on her bed, her eyes downcast. She fiddled with her nails, incapable of looking at Akemi who sat across from her, green eyes curious and worried. She really didn't want to bother Akemi with her problems, seeing as she had her own. But the blonde yōkai knew more about Tōga-ō. It made her the best person to talk to about the man. But could she? Akemi was her friend, almost like a sister. Could she tell her about her feelings towards the King of Japan?

Gentle hands took Jasmine's, snapping her out of her thoughts.

' _You do not need to think you're alone, Jasmine,'_ Akemi's voice was gentle, pure green eyes looking up into Jasmine's brown-green from where she was crouched. _'Pack stays together, no matter what.'_

Jasmine nodded and tightened her hand held between Akemi's. _'I got into an argument with Tōga-ō.'_

' _What about?'_

' _I couldn't help it, Akemi,'_ she said covering her face in her hands. _'I didn't want it to happen. I really didn't. But I just exploded.'_

Akemi rubbed comforting circles on her back. _'You have nothing to fear. I'm right here.'_

' _He belittled you, and I couldn't take it,'_ she blurted. _'I couldn't keep quiet. And because I couldn't control myself, I accidentally set his office on fire.'_

Akemi was silent and then burst out laughing.

Jasmine looked at her, tears in her eyes. _'What's so funny?'_

Rubbing the tears away with her finger, Akemi looked at her friend. _'Jasmine, you didn't kill him if that's what you're guilty about. It'll take more than a little fire to kill his ass, believe me.'_

' _That's not why I was guilty…'_

Akemi merely gave her a disbelieving look.

' _Okay, a little bit,'_ she relented. _'But what if I get kicked out? What if he deems me unworthy to live around humans? Akemi, what do I do?'_

The yōkai merely smiled at her. _'Go with your first plan.'_

' _Huh?'_

' _You plan to get away for a while, right? Surely you must have something in mind.'_

' _Well, I was invited to my friend's wedding back in Illinois. I don't want to miss it, but I can't just skip school either.'_

' _This friend means a lot to you, right?'_

Jasmine nodded. _'A lot.'_

' _Then go.'_

' _But-'_

' _Don't argue!'_ Akemi said. _'School will still be here when you get back. If you miss this wedding, you'll live with regret for the rest of your life. It's her first time getting married. She's going to need you there.'_

' _What about you? You said we're pack, family. We're supposed to stay together.'_

' _She's your family too,'_ Akemi said with a soft smile. _'She was there long before me. Now hurry up and pack.'_

Jasmine smiled at her. _'Thank you, Akemi. You're the best.'_

Akemi looked at her. _'No, you're the best, Jasmine, for keeping an important promise.'_

' _How did you-'_

' _Woman's intuition,'_ Akemi cut her off. _'I'll distract the big guy so he doesn't come after you, because he most certainly will try.'_

' _Why would he?'_ she asked, her face morphing into a frown at the reminder of the man who had dissed her friend.

Akemi looked at her surprised. _'I guess even djinn can be quite innocent when it comes to matters of the heart.'_

' _What does that mean?'_ the djinn asked.

Akemi smiled. _'Nothing important,'_ she answered. _But it might go deeper than the heart,_ Akemi thought. _Soul mates? Jasmine and Tōga-ō? Could it really be?_

* * *

 _Now what do I do?_ Tōga-ō thought pacing the office floor. _I meet a djinn for the first time and I completely fucked up. But what did I do wrong? Why did she get so angry?_

'What are you doing?'

Turning, Tōga-ō's golden eyes clashed with his eldest son's, who stood just in front of the office double doors.

Sesshōmaru wasn't an expressive type of person. He was far too guarded, his face a mask of indifference. But he knew his son far too well. He could see the simmering anger in his eyes. In fact, Sesshōmaru had never looked so alive before, not since Akemi's disappearance over seven hundred years ago. As always, she sparked a fire within him, challenged him, and forced him to face reality when no one else had come even close. That anger was comprised of more than being challenged. Sesshōmaru didn't know it himself, but Tōga-ō could see that his son was clearly angry that Akemi had disappeared without saying a word to anyone.

Tōga-ō recalled the way Sesshōmaru had thrown a temper tantrum when Akemi had disappeared. His steadfast rival had vanished without a trace. Of course he'd be angry. But now that she was back, was he ecstatic?

Tōga-ō couldn't see his son ever being so overjoyed. He was far too prideful. Like his mother.

'Where's that ridiculous human?' he sneered.

'Are you still unaccepting of the fact that there's another species out there, Sesshōmaru?' Tōga-ō asked as he sank into his leather chair.

' _Humph_ , she acts far too human to be anything other than a human,' he said as he stepped up to the desk.

Cold eyes stared down at the scorched desk, a glimmer of green and blue shimmering across the surface like the dying embers of a fire. It was the biggest hint, besides the scorch marks, that a fire had taken place in the office. Given his father's speed, it was no wonder the fire alarm hadn't burst to life. But the fact that the two colours played inside the wood while there was no fire said that the creator of the flames was far from human. It was impossible for a yōkai to leave behind such a uniquely beautiful mark.

'Jasmine,' Tōga-ō clarified. 'As uncontrolled as fire itself.'

'Fire is only tamed under careful watch,' Sesshōmaru said, eyes tracking the movements of the two colours on the desk.

'Exactly,' Tōga-ō said on a sigh. 'She's the one on guard, and if she's not careful, her powers go rampant.'

'Teach her control,' Sesshōmaru said as if it were the most obvious thing.

It was, but the problem was the species. A yōkai cannot teach a djinn to control their unexplored powers.

'I would, if it were possible.'

'What do you mean?'

'Yōkai cannot teach djinn control. Why? Because we're of entirely different species, and I have no idea how to treat a djinn. They're a foreign species, Sesshōmaru. They are nature itself. Not even we yōkai know how to probably care, control and counter nature itself. They're a force to be reckoned with. I understand that even without seeing the tip of Jasmine's power. That's how formidable the djinn are. We cannot approach them carelessly.'

Sesshōmaru crossed his arms over his chest. 'Akemi has djinn as members of her House. Why do you not talk to her about this and arrange for one of her djinn to teach the girl control?'

Tōga-ō's eyes furrowed.

'So that's how it is,' Sesshōmaru stated with a frown.

'What are you talking about?'

'It's no wonder she got angry with you, chichiue. It seems that even djinn are prideful. They refuse to let another belittle and dis their family.'

'I did not-'

'Didn't you?' Sesshōmaru challenged.

Tōga-ō snapped his mouth shut, his frown deepening.

'Tell me you didn't doubt Akemi's power.'

'You doubt her,' Tōga-ō said, as if it made things better.

'Of course I'd doubt her. We've been rivals since we were children. I've got to show her that I'm dominate and better than her. It's not right for a woman, a little girl in Akemi's case, to stand above a man. She needs to learn her place. And even though I doubt her, I do not doubt her power. I'm extremely confident in her abilities, even to the point that she could prevent a disaster without having to rely upon another. She's grown powerful. Fitting for my rival. But that's all.'

Tōga-ō sighed. 'It's been seven hundred years and you still believe in her.'

'Believe?' Sesshōmaru scoffed. 'No. I trust her. That's all.'

'And where is Akemi?'

Sesshōmaru fell silent.

A smirk formed on the King's lips. 'She escaped you, didn't she?'

Sesshōmaru remained silent.

He laughed. 'She's always been an escape artist. I should have known better. Whenever you're involved, she'll always try over a hundred percent to beat you or get away from you.'

'You're quite attracted to that girl,' Sesshōmaru said immediately turning the tables against his father.

'What if I am?'

'At least it's better than falling for another human,' he grumbled.

'You're so prejudice, Sesshōmaru,' Tōga-ō said disapprovingly.

'Humans are too weak, too inferior. They'll never live up to us yōkai. It's better if they learn that fact, and fast.'

Tōga-ō sighed. 'What am I going to do with you?'

* * *

'What?!' the man bellowed and slammed the bottom of his fist against the wall, creating a sizable dent into the wall surrounded by deep cracks that spider webbed around the indent.

'Don't destroy our hideout,' another man said deadpanned. 'I'm getting tired of having to fix your mess.'

'How the hell are you so calm about this?' the first man exclaimed. 'Doesn't it piss you off?'

'Of course it does, but destroying buildings will certainly not help the situation.'

'You're right, it doesn't, but it certainly makes me feel better.'

'You're such a child.'

The first man glowered at him. 'Watch your tongue before I cut it out.'

'If it was easy for you yōkai to kill us djinn, we'd be extinct by now.'

' _Tch_ , sometimes I regret teaming up with you.'

'But then neither of us would have gotten this far,' the djinn said to him.

'Can't argue with that,' the yōkai said calmly. He ran a hand through his long black hair, briefly revealing the black star on his forehead, and took a seat on the plush leather sofa. He crossed his right leg over his left as he spread his arms on the back of the sofa. 'So what's the plan?'

'We're going to have to be careful. We're not the only ones who have their sights on that school.'

' _Tch_ , that hanyō bastard again?'

'Unfortunately,' the djinn agreed. 'Due to his connections and his position, we can't do anything against him. Well, not yet. We'll stick to the shadows and wait.'

The yōkai groaned. 'More waiting. At the moment, it's all we're good for.'

'Patience,' the djinn growled out. 'Our perseverance will reward us soon enough. Just bite your tongue and bear with it.'

'Fine,' the yōkai said waving away his words.

'If you're that frustrated, why don't you seek out some female company?'

The yōkai glared at him. 'I'm not touching no filthy whores. I'm not the type to bury myself in every female flesh that's available. I'll wait.'

'Suit yourself. Just don't come barking to me when you're sexually aggravated.'

The yōkai scoffed. 'Speak for yourself, tree hugger.'

'Shut it, mutt.'

'Well, we _mutts_ piss up trees,' the yōkai said smirking.

'I'm going to flambé you one day.'

'Now if that were possible, you would have done it the day we met.'

' _Tch_ ,' the djinn said gritting his teeth. 'You're a pain in my ass.'

'I haven't bitten you yet,' he said with a grin.

'Try and I'll burn you.'

The yōkai laughed. 'We'll see.'

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Chichiue - father


	15. Chapter 15

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness my wonderful readers. Just a quick thank you to all those who've followed, reviewed and read. A special thanks to LADY SILVERFOX for persisting the story. The story is jointly owned by LADY SILVERFOX and myself. We only own the plotline and our OCs, Jasmine and Akemi. The rest belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Well, onto the next chapter. Here you go! Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

' _English'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Fifteen**

'Tōga-ō!' Akemi snapped barging into the office.

The door she slammed open crashed into the wall, cracks spider webbed around the wood. Despite the situation, she would have laughed if the two males in the office had jumped. But sadly, there was no such reaction.

How boring.

She wasn't truly expecting that reaction, as it was only fantasy, but she loved to humiliate people that angered her, directly or indirectly. She was being petty, acting human. But for the sake of the members of her pack, she'd do anything. Except strip naked and offer her body to every man alive. She was never going to whore herself out like that. That was just degrading. Beyond degrading actually.

'What are you doing here, Akemi?' Sesshōmaru's cold voice demanded.

She didn't even spare the prince a glance, let alone acknowledge his presence.

'Calm yourself, Akemi,' Tōga-ō ordered calmly.

Her green eyes burned with an inner fire at the order.

'You no longer have the authority to order me around, Tōga-ō. We are officially of the same rank.'

'My apologies,' he said, golden eyes insincere.

'I really didn't want to believe Jasmine. I really wanted to have that faith in you,' she sneered and turned her nose up to look down at him.

And that had nothing to do with their height differentiation. He would have her beat with his hands down.

'But there's no way that a member of my pack would ever lie to me,' she said with a growl. 'In fact, there's no way I wouldn't be able to detect a lie. But seeing that look in your eye confirms it. You're doing more than looking down on me.'

'We are of the same rank,' he admitted, closely his eyes and leaning back in his chair with a calm confidence. 'But just because we're ranked the same doesn't mean that we are of the same strength. Figuratively, I cannot rest my beliefs in you, even if you were the only one capable of saving the entire yōkai race. The difference in power of our stations makes it impossible to entrust you with such responsibilities.'

'That's a polite way to say you're just a burden, Akemi,' Sesshōmaru said.

Akemi chuckled humourlessly. 'If there's one thing I've come to hate above everything else, it's being looked down on.'

'You're just a child,' Tōga-ō said. 'How do you expect to compete amongst adults who have far more experience, power and intelligence in their stations?'

'Compared to an ancient man such as yourself, I would be a child. But if these last seven hundred years have taught me anything, it's believing and trusting in others. Especially with my House. I lack experience, especially in handling highly ranked individuals such as you and me. I earned the intelligence through the years. And I cannot be called the Lady of the House of the Sun if I did not have the power to back it. I wasn't merely handed the title because I'm the last survivor, although that's only part of it. However, the ceremony requires a specific level of power in order to be granted the title. A requirement I had no difficulty in obtaining.'

'I have heard that the House of the Sun has a Ceremony of Entitlement.'

'Ceremony of Entitlement?' Sesshōmaru repeated, curiously.

'The Ceremony of Entitlement is a ritual that all possibly leaders of the House has to undertake to be chosen to being the Lord or Lady,' Akemi confirmed without looking at him. 'The requirements is the strong bloodline of the inu yōkai, specifically from the House of the Sun, a certain level of power and a blood vow that's Law itself. When the Lord of Lady has been chosen, it's from a higher power. And as each candidate undergoes the Ceremony of Entitlement, we all undergo a thorough examination of our minds, bodies, hearts and souls. Only then will someone be chosen.'

'How do they choose the next leader?' Sesshōmaru inquired.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. 'No one knows. The higher power involved in the choosing of our leader only ever involves themselves during the ceremony. Other than that, everyone doubts their existence. Actually, there were far too many that believed it was some yōkai who believed themselves to be higher than the rest of us. But other than that, no one really knows who or what the higher power is, or why they involve themselves with the House of the Sun.'

'Regardless of this ceremony's requirement of power, you expect me to believe that you're capable of fighting on par with me? On par with Sesshōmaru?' Tōga-ō said incredulously.

Akemi resisted the strange temptation of glaring at him.

'I've been fighting on par with Sesshōmaru since we were little children.'

He waved her words away. 'That was over seven hundred years ago. I'm on about now.'

This time she did glare.

'Your precious first son is not the only one who's grown stronger in these last seven centuries, Tōga-ō.'

He shook his head. 'I'm sorry, Akemi, but I cannot believe it. Especially not with your lack of control the other day.'

'Would you stop belittling me?!' she yelled at him, her yōki flaring.

The loud _boom_ of an explosion shook the building like an earthquake. Both the males immediately looked at Akemi in accusation, but the female yōkai knew that she had nothing to do with the blast. But she knew that she had no part in the explosion. What did she get out of blowing up the school? Absolutely nothing! But of course these two wouldn't believe her, even if she tried to explain. Tōga-ō already believed that she was weak. What else would he not believe?

She glared at him. 'I don't need to prove my innocence to you,' she growled and left the office, slamming the door shut.

At the same time that the door slammed closed, the fire alarm blared alive.

Akemi got a bad feeling in her gut. She used her yōkai speed to race out of the building, and then used her sense of smell to lead her to the fire.

 _Well, at least this was a good distraction for you, Jasmine_ , Akemi thought as she raced towards the fire.

* * *

'Now _that's_ a distraction,' Jasmine said wanting to laugh to herself, but also worried about Tōga-ō's temper. 'Thanks, Akemi.'

Taking her phone out of her pocket, she placed her earphones in her ears and plugged the jack into the phone. She scrolled through her songs and played _School's Out_ by Alice Cooper, a fitting song considering the burning building and the fact that she was escaping.

Turning back to the wall, she threw her suitcase over the wall and then sat in silence for a minute before climbing over and dropping to the ground on the other side. Waiting at the curb was a taxi, one that Jasmine had called a while ago while Akemi arranged all the payments to get to Illinois. The yōkai had refused Jasmine's refusals. She had insisted that she help a friend in need. And because Jasmine hated relying on others was determined that she would pay Akemi back. The payment Akemi wanted was for Jasmine to be happy.

She slammed the boot closed after she had put her luggage in and slipped into the back of the cab.

'To the airport please,' she asked the driver.

As the car went into motion, Jasmine peered out of the window back to the school. She couldn't help but be worried about Akemi and the other girls. But her thoughts were mainly filled with Tōga-ō.

Shaking her thoughts away, she sank back into the seat and let her mind wander into the song. In a trance-like state, she closed her eyes. However, that only made it worse. Tōga-ō's face kept working its way to the forefront of her thoughts, making it nearly impossible to tune him out. He was like a demanding dog, even in her innermost thoughts. It was aggravating, since she was still angry with him for how he treated her friend, but it was also a pleasure to be able to see him so perfectly in her mind. She didn't want to be distracted from her anger towards him, but for some reason she could never stay mad at him for long, at least not inwardly.

Was she becoming a pushover? Or was this silly crush of hers getting too ridiculous?

She was going to end up hurt again. She just knew she was.

But what could she do? You can't control who you fall in love with. It was out of her hands.

But did she want to stop loving him? She couldn't find it in herself to stop from crushing on him, to prevent her heart from feeling so attracted to him, as if they were drawn together like magnets. She couldn't truly explain why she liked him to begin with, just that there was some kind of force pulling them together. She couldn't escape, even if she wanted to. She didn't even know how to begin to break away. And every time she thought about doing it, something within her rebelled.

She couldn't escape. Some part of her didn't want to.

The hearts wants what it wants.

* * *

Kagome, Rin, Sango, Inuyasha and Miroku came to a stop outside the dormitories where everyone else had also gathered. The girls gasped and the twins covered their mouths with their hands. Sango's eyes were wide, just like the boys'.

Fire crackled and hissed from the top storey, from a set of five windows. The smoke ballooned into the sky, the normally grey colour was black before it lightened out, indicating that many things were definitely burning in the room. And it was definitely someone's room seeing as someone had set fire to the room. But it was no ordinary fire. The explosion beforehand pointed out that it was intentional. Those that lived in that room was in danger.

'Kagome-nee, Sango-nee, that's our room!' Rin exclaimed.

'She's right!' Kagome said with wide eyes.

'Who would do such a thing?'

Kagome glared up at the fire. 'I bet it was Kikyō and Kagura.'

'What?!' Inuyasha exclaimed. 'Why would they do this?'

'Well, Kikyō and Kagome hate each other. Kagura's Kikyō's lackey. It shouldn't have surprised me that they'd stoop to this level,' Sango explained.

'Inuyasha, Miroku, is anyone hurt?' Tōga-ō asked as he stepped onto the scene, immediately commanding silence amongst the crowd.

'Oyaji,' Inuyasha said with relief in his voice. 'Iie, everyone's fine.'

'Inu no Taishō-sama,' Sango greeted with a bow. 'Would you like me to investigate?'

Japan's King looked at her. 'Who lives in that room?'

'We do, sire,' she answered. 'My sisters and I, along with Jasmine and Akemi.'

'If Akemi lives there, then I don't see why she would blow it up,' Sesshōmaru said coming to stand beside his father and crossing his arms.

'Akemi-chan did this?' Rin asked shocked.

'No,' Sesshōmaru said before Tōga-ō could pinpoint the blame on her.

Tōga-ō narrowed his eyes at his eldest son.

Rin looked relieved. 'Thank goodness.'

'It's not possible for Akemi to destroy her own bedroom,' Sesshōmaru explained looking up at the blazing fire. 'What reason would she have? She'd not only be destroying her own stuff, but she'd be destroying her friends' as well. Considering the way she treats her four roommates as pack, there's no way she'd endanger them, leave them homeless or destroy the things they own. She's not malicious, even if she is weak.'

Tōga-ō crossed his arms. 'And who do you think did this?' he asked, waving a hand at the fire that the school's security team were trying to put out.

'Does Akemi, Jasmine or any of you have any enemies?' Sesshōmaru asked, turning to the three sisters, Inuyasha and Miroku.

'Rather than asking someone else, wouldn't it be better if you heard it directly from my mouth?' Akemi asked from behind him.

The first prince turned to look at her.

Her once angry green eyes were blue surrounded by a sea of red. The girl was close to transforming. The destruction of her living quarters, and not just hers, had set her teetering close on the edge.

'Sesshōmaru,' Tōga-ō said, bringing attention around to him. 'Interview Akemi, Inuyasha and Miroku. I'll interview the sisters.'

'And Jasmine?'

Tōga-ō sighed. 'I'll leave her be for now. She's in a dangerous mood, and I have no idea how to diffuse it.'

The first prince nodded his head. 'Come, Akemi.'

She glared at the yōkai, but said nothing. She completely ignored Tōga-ō altogether and headed off after Sesshōmaru with the two boys following closely.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Nee - sister

Oyaji – father

Iie - no


	16. Chapter 16

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back to Trap of Darkness! Kitty here. Good to see you again. Thank you to all the wonderful reviews, and another thank you to all the followers and to those that have read it. A special thanks to LADY SILVERFOX charita rai for always reviewing the chapters and providing ideas. Another thank you to her again as she's the one that keeps pulling the story back to my attention. Anyways, I won't delay you anymore. Onto the story! Here's chapter sixteen for you. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

' _English'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Sixteen**

Jasmine took one look at the airport and had the sudden urge to turn back. Fighting that overwhelming need, she grabbed her suitcase and headed into the building. Each step was harder than the last, becoming increasingly heavy. Even her breathing was becoming a little harsher. She couldn't explain it, just that she needed to turn back. But she didn't. One look at the ticket in her hand steeled her resolve. She could not turn back. She wouldn't. She _needed_ to see her friend. Even more so since it was her wedding.

She checked in and watched as her bag disappeared through the plastic curtains. She then went in search of the waiting area that was close to her gate. Now she had to wait for an hour before her gate opened.

Twenty minutes until boarding time, Jasmine sat on the edge of a seat, unable to resist fidgeting. Her eyes constantly flittered to and fro, eyeing people, looking up at the flight billboard and staring down at the ticket held between her hands. She was nervous. She was nervous for her friend's wedding. She was even nervous to leave Tōga-ō. The intense feeling to return to his side emerged. In fact, it had never gone away. Instead, it had merely intensified to an almost painful degree. It took everything in her willpower to remain seated.

She was a mess. Thankfully she wasn't a crying mess.

 _Come on, Jasmine, get a grip_ , she thought to herself as she took deep slow breaths.

'The flight for Peoria Illinois is now boarding. Please proceed to Gate E. I repeat, the flight for Peoria Illinois is now boarding. Please proceed to Gate E. Thank you,' the woman over the intercom announced.

Getting up from her seat, Jasmine headed towards Gate E. Once more her steps were heavy and unrushed. Her body did not want to leave. Or at least leave Tōga-ō behind. This had never happened to her before. She's had a few boyfriends here and there, nothing that really stood out. And she's certainly not experienced anything even remotely close to something like this. Puppy love, minor crushes, none of them had ever kindled a flame. There was never a spark, and when there was it soon died out. But this. This was unreal.

It was bizarre. She was supposed to be angry at him! Not feel like she should race back to him and snuggle against him!

 _Forget about him,_ she told herself, massaging her temples as she waited in line at the gate. _Just think about the wedding._

She handed her ticket to the woman, who broke off the end and handed the big part back to her. She then followed after the other passengers to the plane before quickly climbing the steps and taking her assigned seat next to the window. Almost immediately she looked out to the building, searching for the familiar face of Tōga-ō. She was disappointed when she did not see his white clad form. Hoping that he had followed her, she quickly scanned the aisle and over seats. There was no one with silver haired pulled into a high ponytail.

She sighed in disappointment and quickly checked her phone.

Nothing. No calls. And the one text was from Akemi wishing for her enjoyment, and that was two hours ago.

She wanted to ring and ask to speak to him. But then she had to squash that urge down flat.

What was the point in escaping if she was just to screw it all up by ringing him?

Drumming her fingers on the armrest, Jasmine was anxious and paranoid.

She wanted so badly to run off the plane and return to the school. She was worried about her friends, but mostly about Tōga-ō. How was he going to take her disappearance? What would he do? How was everyone else going to react? God, she couldn't help but feel that she couldn't do this. But she knew she had to. Sara wasn't going to wait for her forever before getting married to the love of her life. Jasmine wouldn't expect her to wait. But by God, she was not going to miss her friend's wedding.

And the explosion? Jeez what had Akemi done? What did she blow up? Was anyone injured? Had she been caught? What was Tōga-ō going to do to her when he finds out that she had done it? And for what, distracting him so Jasmine could escape? Seriously, wasn't that going a bit too far?

Slipping further down the seat until she felt almost invisible, Jasmine silently groaned to herself.

This was the worst way to start a celebration.

* * *

'This was not what I was expecting,' the male standing atop the wall said crossing his arms, red eyes narrowed at the blaze that was being snuffed out.

The male that sat on the wall beside him whistled. 'I wonder who pissed that person off. Who do you think did it?'

'That's not why we're here,' the first male said irritably, glaring down at his black haired partner.

'Grumpy pants. You need to lighten up a bit.' His glowing blue eyes looked up at his standing companion. 'A lot actually.'

Red eyes glared down into blue. 'You trying to make an enemy out of me?'

'Of course not,' he answered with a grin, the mischievous look in his eyes belying his words.

'Now I understand why my kind doesn't like any dealings with you yōkai. You're nothing more than a pain in the ass. And it's not the good kind.'

'Dude, keep your bondage crap to yourself,' the yōkai sneered.

'Don't talk as if you don't like it yourself, hypocrite.'

'You're gross. You make it sound as if I participate with you.'

'I'd rather cut my dick off before ever entertaining that thought. I wouldn't even touch you with someone else's.'

'I wouldn't touch you with my grandma, and she's dead.'

'Seriously? You really think I'm the type to be into necrophilia? All you yōkai are disgusting.'

'I'm disgusting? What about you djinn? You ruthless, emotionless, bastards think only of yourselves and your own ideals. You're no worse and no better than us yōkai.'

'The only thing keeping you alive is your usefulness,' the djinn said darkly, a promise in his tone.

' _Tch_ ,' the yōkai said, glaring up at his 'partner' before turning his attention back to the school.

The fire was now extinguished completely, small billows of smoke leaking towards the sky in a dark grey and black trail. The clamour of terrified and shocked students filled the air, the noise level so loud that the djinn and yōkai could clearly hear everything that was being said. The pair, while wholly different, grimaced simultaneously. And though they wanted to remain as separated from the incident as much as possible, they couldn't help but overhear a pair of females talking about the fire. It was the nature of their conversation that turned their heads. Clearly, the fire had been set on purpose. And according to the females, they had intended to kill those that lived in that room.

'So petty,' the djinn said glaring at the trees where the girls were hiding.

They were none the wiser of the males' presence.

'I really don't understand female jealousy,' the yōkai said, leaning back on the wall and titling his head towards the sky.

'Yet, you draw females like a moth to a flame,' the djinn said, looking down at him.

'I don't date or bed them,' he said closing his eyes. 'So, who are you spying on?'

'Don't worry about that, just focus on your job.'

'Fine, fine, Mr Mysterious.'

The sudden silence from the two females indicated that they had left. But that silence made it all the more possible for the pair to hear the growing sound of footsteps softly treading on pavement. As the person came into view, the black haired yōkai's body had tensed in preparation for a fight. With his yōki faintly rising, the djinn looked down at him, red eyes furrowed in thought at the sudden aggression his partner displayed. Looking back at the newcomer, he tried to make sense of why his yōkai partner was suddenly so antagonistic.

'Who is he?' the blonde djinn asked, his red eyes glowing.

'That's Tōga-ō,' his partner answered.

The blonde looked sharply down at him, eyes wide. 'He's the King of Japan?' he looked back at the silver haired yōkai standing so close, yet so far away from them. 'That power makes sense. His yōki is unbelievable, even though he's reined it in completely. And that jaki, I've not felt anything so suffocating.'

'Before he became the King of Japan, he was Lord of the West, one of the four superior yōkai in the whole of our history. Being an inu daiyōkai, a race far stronger than any of the others, he reigned over the other Lords and Ladies. It's no wonder he became Japan's King.'

'And that replica of his?' he asked, pointing to the lookalike that had joined the King.

' _Sesshōmaru_ ,' he sneered angrily. 'Tōga-ō's first son, heir to the throne, and the Head of the House of the Moon.'

'Impressive. For yōkai, those two are unlike any I've ever met. They're even stronger than you. Far stronger. What do you hope to accomplish by challenging them? You're already head of your house. Why tempt to go further?'

'Because that bastard of a son took something from me, and his asshole of a father suggested it. I'm going to make them pay for taking what belongs to me.'

The djinn sighed. 'This is going to end badly. I can just feel it.'

* * *

Killing had never been easier, especially under the influence of a drug that could control you. Kohaku felt dead when he had no control, induced by a drug that stole away his independence. He was nothing more than a puppet, and a scapegoat should anyone be onto his master's trail. Kohaku would take the fall long before his master would. That was the way drug dealing worked in this neighbourhood. If you were supplied, willingly or not, you always had to take the rap for the supplier, or for the master who owned you.

But the drug that frequently ran through his system had a time limit. Thankfully, it was just that time where the effects were beginning to wear off. The unfortunate part was he had been in the midst of an assassination.

Gasping at the innocent blood staining his hand and kusarigama, Kohaku quickly backed away from the lifeless man's body and thudding against the wall behind him. Tears quickly sprang to his eyes, but he was incapable of turning his head away from the crime he had committed, yet again. Shaking his head in denial, tears freely falling, he scurried out of the house and into the night as fast as his human legs could carry him, his weapon clutched securely in his hands.

Despite it being one of the banes of his existence, he couldn't come to tear himself away from it. It was his only line of defence against the horrors of this yōkai-human mixed world. Against his master, his strength and power were useless. He couldn't fight him. But then, how can a human fight against a yōkai? Especially one of his calibre? It just wasn't done. Going to the police would be stupid. They'd not only take his master's side over his. Besides, there was proof of his involvement in the death of everyone he had ever killed under his master's orders. That tie, that evidence, was his downfall. And as long as he remained loyal and obedient to his master, that evidence would never fall into the laws hands. He'd be protected.

But he didn't want to be. Not anymore.

Today was the last straw. He couldn't do it anymore.

He wanted to be punished, even though it wasn't his fault. Influenced by the world's most powerful and deadliest of drugs, the Shikon no Tama, Kohaku had no control over his actions. It turned him into a mindless puppet. But even if he got tested for drugs, the Shikon no Tama would never be found in his system. It just wouldn't show up. Everyone knew that, so no one who suffered under the influence of Shikon no Tama were excused from crimes. They were always sentenced, because there was just no way to prove that they were under the influence of the drug.

Kohaku had closed his eyes tightly as he ran, uncaring and unmindful of where he was running to or who he ran into. And when he bumped into a person and fell on top of them, he was startled at the softness beneath his empty hand. His brown eyes stared deeply into the large brown doe eyes of an eighteen year old girl that lay beneath him, a curtain of black hair framing her heart shaped face.

He looked down where his hand was.

Face flushing a deep crimson, he jerked off and away from her, yelling an apology.

Sitting up, the beautiful young woman blinked her doe eyes at him. There was a gentleness to her that made him pause.

'Are you alright?' she asked, her eyes eyeing the blood on his body, believing that he was injured.

He looked away. 'I'm fine.'

Getting to her feet, she stood over him, a hand held out as she smiled down at him. He looked up at her in astonishment, unable to believe his eyes.

Why was this girl being so nice to him?

'Can you stand?'

'Get away from me!' he snapped, knocking her hand aside. He got to his feet and staggered away from her. 'This isn't my blood! Don't you see that? I'm dangerous, so get away!'

She smiled at him, innocence in the action and in the way she tilted her head. 'But if you were so dangerous, you wouldn't be warning me. You're actually a nice guy, aren't you?'

'Are you stupid?!' he snapped. 'I'm not safe!'

All of a sudden there was a seriousness to her that wasn't there before. 'A drug, right? That's what made you do it? If so, I know someone that can help.'

'Don't be ridiculous!' he said angrily. 'No one can prove that the Shikon no Tama exists.'

'Can't yōkai sniff it out?' she asked curiously. 'That's what Sango-nee told me.'

'Yōkai don't like helping humans,' he pointed out.

'I know a yōkai that'll help you.'

'Look, just leave me alone. I can take care of myself.'

The girl became determined. 'I can't leave you to suffer by yourself. Please, let me help you.'

'You can't do anything.'

'Yes I can!'

'Damn that Kohaku,' a female said from down the alleyway Kohaku had run out of.

The girl grabbed his hand and quickly hid behind a towering wall of rubbish next to a restaurant, pressing a hand to his mouth to keep him quiet.

'Where is he, Kagura? Naraku would flip if we don't bring that little brat back with us.'

'Don't get your knickers in a twist, Kikyō. He should be around here somewhere.'

'Yeah, well, where? I don't see him.'

'I'm not sensing him either.'

'How can his reiryoku just disappear like that?' the second female – Kikyō – demanded. 'He's not even that spiritually strong to begin with!'

'How the hell should I know?' Kagura snapped. 'I'm a yōkai, not a miko or a priest! You should be able to find him better than I can!'

'Whatever. He's probably headed for those deserted warehouses again.'

'Let's go then.'

The pair of them waited until they could hear nothing. The girl poked her head around the rubbish, keeping to the shadows. When she could see nothing in the darkness of the alleyway, she grabbed Kohaku's hand and pulled him after her in a completely different direction.

'What are you doing?' he demanded, surprised.

'I know somewhere where we can lay low,' she said to him over her shoulder.

He tried to pry loose. 'Look, just forget about me. I'll be fine.'

'No you won't,' she said, brown eyes stubborn. 'I know about Naraku. I know what he's like. My family and the yōkai we're involved with have to deal with him all the time. Though we can't prove anything about his illicit business, we can still fight him. We're working to bring him down. So please, trust me. I won't say anything to my family, or to the yōkai. Not until you're ready. But please, you must trust me.'

Reluctantly, he nodded his head.

'I'm Higurashi Rin. What's your name?' she said smiling at him, before turning down a corner and ran ahead, pulling him along after her.

'Kohaku,' he answered. 'Arigatou, Rin.'

She just smiled at him and continued to lead him, her hand clasping his tightly.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Kusarigama – it's the scythe-like weapon that Kohaku uses in the anime

Shikon no Tama – the jewel from the anime, but in this story is a drug

Nee – sister

Arigatou – thank you


	17. Chapter 17

Trap of Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello and welcome back to Trap of Darkness. I'm the author and host for this story, but it's also a joint effort with LADY SILVERFOX charita rai. I appreciate all the feedback I've received, so thank you. I'm also grateful to those that are following this story and those that have read it. Thank you to LADY SILVERFOX for all your wonderful ideas and for keeping me interested ^.^. Much appreciated. Anyways, here's chapter 17. Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

' _English'_

 _Thoughts_

* * *

 **Seventeen**

'What the hell's going on?' Inuyasha demanded as soon as Sesshōmaru closed the door to the private office.

Miroku silently sat down, the picture of calm, but the slight downturn of his mouth hinted at his worry. Inuyasha was fuming, his mouth set in an angry line, and he paced the room. Akemi stuck close to the wall, arms folded, and her blue eyes glaring at the wall across from her. Sesshōmaru took a seat in the leather chair behind the desk, golden eyes as calm as his façade. He commanded the air and the attention, but only Miroku was paying him any attention.

'Let's start with you, Akemi,' Sesshōmaru's voice broke the heavy silence. 'Where were you at the time of the explosion?'

'With you,' she growled, glaring right at him. 'But then you already knew that, as did your father.'

'Wait, what? Why did you need to see oyaji?' Inuyasha asked her.

'Your beloved father pissed Jasmine off, so I decided to give him a piece of my mind,' she explained to him. 'No one angers my pack and gets away with it. That's how I work.'

'It just seems like a coincidence that the moment you release your yōki the explosion went off,' Sesshōmaru pointed out. 'It's understandable why chichiue believes you're responsible for the damage.'

'And what reason do I have to blow up the room I'm living in? The room that my pack mates live in? We inu yōkai are territorial and possessive,' she growled. 'Do you really think me capable of doing something so against our nature?'

'I do not,' he answered, but even his honesty didn't faze her. She was far too angry to think clearly. 'However, you need to see reason for a moment. How do you plan to convince chichiue that you have no connection to blowing up the girls' dormitories?'

'If it was a yōkai, which you shouldn't rule out, then if yōki was involved in the making of whatever blew up the room you should be able to identify the signature. Someone of yours and your father's calibre shouldn't find that too difficult.'

'The only problem is that your yōki would be all over that room.'

She scoffed. 'You know our five scents without having to strain that brain of yours to identify us. Picking out a scent that does not belong to that room should be a simple task. As for the yōki, I'm the only yōkai in the room. Picking apart the yōkai should be even easier. Or are you going tell me that your strong sense of smell is too pathetic to detect simple things like this?'

He frowned at her. 'I understand your anger, Akemi, but there's no need to take it out on me. Or do you not recall that I stuck up for you?'

She glared at him. 'Since when did your pompous ass care to 'stick up for me' as you call it? Normally, you'd love to leave me hanging.'

'You really do love to drive me to the edge, don't you?' he said, his eyes briefly turning blue.

'You really love to belittle and look down on me, don't you?' she asked.

'Apologies for interrupting,' Miroku spoke up, garnering everyone's attention, especially two angry yōkai. He looked nervous with their attention trained on him. 'But Akemi-hime, do you have any enemies that we're unaware of?'

'Aside from the one who destroyed the House of the Sun, there's one enemy, but he's back in England. We should have no problems from him.'

'Did you make any other enemies in _school_?' Sesshōmaru asked, taking on the picture of calm once again.

'Other than your whore of a woman and her slutty friend?' she asked, and immediately smirked when he glared venomously at her. 'No. The ones who are spreading these rumours about the two of us are more the Taishō family's enemies than mine. But to insinuate that Fluffy and I are together, like a couple, is going over the line. When I catch them, they're dead.'

'Reframe from using such names when you're addressing or talking about me,' Sesshōmaru growled. 'It's no wonder these insignificant lowlifes assumed we're a couple.'

She looked at him sharply. 'Do you even know what these rumours are saying, Sesshōmaru?'

He looked back at her, eyes steady. 'No.'

'Huh?' Inuyasha said confused.

'I hadn't considered it to be important when I heard the gossip around school,' Miroku said thoughtfully.

'It's not just around school,' Akemi said throwing a newspaper on the desk that she magically retrieved from somewhere. 'It's been splattered all over the world. They've thrown in the whole of the Taishō family, even you, Miroku.'

'What?' the monk and hanyō exclaimed.

Sesshōmaru opened the newspaper and began reading, his eyes furrowing the more he read. The moment he placed it down Inuyasha snatched it up.

'Are these people nuts?!' the hanyō exclaimed angrily. 'There's no way oyaji and Jasmine are getting married! And there's certainly no way that they've had sex either! This is just a bunch of bullshit. And a baby?! What are these people thinking?'

'Read on,' Akemi instructed him, eyes now green. 'There's bits about you and Miroku too.'

'Me and Kagome are what?!' his voice yelled louder than ever.

Miroku snatched the paper from him and read the article. 'Me and Sango? Hmm,' he said thoughtfully. 'She is a beautiful woman, and she's a taijiya. Maybe it's a sign.' His smile was cheerful, but it was super creepy.

'Well you're certainly not bothered about it,' Inuyasha said grumpily.

'Wait a minute, this article is more about Inu no Taishō-sama, Jasmine, Sesshōmaru-sama and Akemi-hime!' he pointed out.

'What?' Inuyasha asked snatching the paper. 'It was revealed by a reliable source that the new students at Taishō High, Jasmine Sarish Samaira and Taiyō Akemi, are romantically involved with Japan's King, Tōga-ō, and the first prince, Sesshōmaru respectively. While there are no pictures available of the couples, we were told that Jasmine and the King had argued over wedding plans in the headmaster's office while the headmaster was away on sick. And seemingly, a pregnancy test was later found in Jasmine's room with a positive reading.'

Akemi snatched the paper from Inuyasha's hands before he realised what happened.

'Hey –' he began but cut off as he saw the look in her eyes.

'Jasmine, pregnant with chichiue's child?' Sesshōmaru asked, eyes turning blue surrounded by a sea of red.

'Calm down you discriminative moron,' Akemi ordered, a growl to her tone, blue seeping back into the clear green of eyes.

He growled at her.

She glared at him and growled back. 'None of this is true about Jasmine. She's not pregnant, she's not sleeping with Tōga-ō, and she's certainly not getting married to him. I don't know where these teme are getting their information from, but they're beyond dead when I catch them.'

'Oh? And our romantic relationship is real then?' Sesshōmaru asked amused.

She glowered at him. 'Not even in your dreams, Fluffy.'

'May I read the rest of the article, Akemi-hime?' Miroku asked.

She handed him the paper without a word.

'If this doesn't get the public's heart pumping in anticipation for the King's newest child, then I'm sure the relationship between Taiyō Akemi and Sesshōmaru would certainly 'uh' and 'aw' you. These long lost lovers were to be mated long ago, but due to unknown events they've only just managed to be reunited. It's well known that our beloved prince has rejected girls left, right and centre, and all because he's been waiting for his beloved Akemi to return to him. It's an inspiring love story just dying to be told, and it's one that'll bring you to tears. And with their reunion, will there be another baby in the Taishō household?'

Akemi's yōki chocked the air as her anger spilled over.

Sesshōmaru looked amused more than ever. 'So Akemi, what do you think? When will our baby be born?'

She turned on him so quickly she almost successfully socked him in the jaw if he hadn't caught her wrists in time.

'You conceited asshole!' she snarled, green eyes overtaken by twin pools of an angry blue.

'You love me really,' he said, completely out of character.

Her face heated and her eyes returning to normal. Her blush was so apparent that it shocked both Inuyasha and Miroku into stillness. Sesshōmaru, knowing that it was more to do with embarrassment than anything else, smirked down at her. She wanted to wipe that smug look off his face, but she was held tightly in his grasp. Struggling was futile, she knew that, but she wanted to hit him. So badly. What she hated above all was that Jasmine's words came back to haunt her.

Fond of Sesshōmaru?

She had never thought about it before, not as closely as this, but she could not deny those words. She had grown fond of him. Too fond. He was a challenge that refused to simply bow down to her, just as she did the same for him. He always tried to prove he was the better of the two, believing that females were naturally weaker than men. He both hated and liked how she was nothing like the rest of her gender. She was strong and fierce, always keeping him on his toes and challenging him. He didn't always like the challenge, but she was the only one that was actually a challenge.

But she couldn't believe how she had never realised it before.

Her fondness was actually love. She was in love with this arrogant yōkai.

 _Jasmine's going to really love it when I tell her_ , Akemi thought as she glared into Sesshōmaru's golden eyes.

'Seeing you both like this makes me wonder if there is indeed a relationship between the two of you,' Miroku's voice cut through their trance.

'That is beyond gross,' Inuyasha said in disgust. 'Sesshōmaru and Mi-chan? No! It's not happening. Besides, there's no way that Sesshōmaru deserves a girl like Mi-chan.'

'And you do?' Sesshōmaru asked him, quirking an eyebrow in his direction.

Inuyasha flushed. 'As if!' he snapped. 'She's like a sister to me. It'll be weird if we ever went out.'

'Stop sounding so possessive and jealous, Sesshōmaru,' Akemi said angrily, while her heart pounded quickly at his words. 'You don't own me and you never will.'

The left side of his mouth quirked up in a grin. 'You will,' he whispered huskily into her ear, causing her to go redder than ever.

'Let go of me!' she ordered and tried to pry herself loose.

'But it's still worrying,' Miroku suddenly said.

Both daiyōkai looked at him.

'If it's not any of Akemi-hime's enemies, then who?'

'Well, Kagome's enemy is Kikyō,' Inuyasha said raising his arms behind his head. 'Kikyō also hates Sango and Rin because they're Kagome's family. And then she hates Jasmine because of what she did in the classroom, and both Kagura and Kikyō hate Mi-chan.'

'For once, Inuyasha, you've used your head,' Sesshōmaru praised at the same time as insulted him.

The hanyō glared at him as the daiyōkai took a seat and forced Akemi to sit on his lap, causing the female to blush and struggle more against his hold. Sesshōmaru only released her wrists to wrap an arm around her middle, pinning her securely against him.

Miroku raised an eyebrow. 'Are you sure you're both not together?'

Inuyasha's mouth hung open.

'Close your mouth, Inuyasha, before you catch flies,' Akemi said to him and he snapped his mouth shut. 'Would you seriously let me go now?' she demanded of Sesshōmaru. 'And we're not together, Miroku.'

'Sure seems like it,' the monk said with a grin.

She glared at him. 'You better start carrying your sutras with you.'

He gulped and sweated nervously.

'So, Kagura and Kikyō?' Sesshōmaru's arm tightened its hold around her, forcing her back up against his chest. 'This Sesshōmaru will have them investigated and questioned. If they're the ones behind the attack, then they're going to need to be put in the rehabilitation prison for those incapable of being around other species.'

'For one that hates humans, you're surely adhering to the rules fairly well,' she mumbled.

'Some humans are useful,' he admitted begrudgingly.

'Instead of sending them that to prison, just kill them,' she said glaring at the wall.

Sesshōmaru smirked. 'Is someone jealous?'

'Over your dead body,' she snarled.

'You needn't worry,' he said placing his chin on her shoulder. 'This Sesshōmaru will not allow anyone to harm what belongs to me.'

'I do not belong to you,' she reminded him angrily.

'You are my Mate,' he said to her, and the reactions of the three of them was priceless.

'What?!' the three yelled.

* * *

 **Word meanings**

Hime – princess

Teme – bastard(s)

Socked – a slang term for punch


End file.
